Castiglione F, Imperatore N, Testa A, Rea M, Nardone OM, Gervetti P, Taranto ML, D'Onofrio G, Caporaso N, Rispo A. Efficacy of a "contact center-based communication" in optimizing the care of inflammatory bowel diseases.
Dig Liver Dis 2016;
48:869-73. [PMID:
27198737 DOI:
10.1016/j.dld.2016.03.028]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2016] [Revised: 02/23/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Telephone helplines are a useful vehicle for the management of chronic diseases even though data on how these can ease management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is still scarce.
AIM
to analyze our two-years' experience with the first telephone helpline dedicated to IBD in Italy.
METHODS
The main outcomes of using a contact center (CC) at our Unit were analyzed; all data was prospectively collected. Patients' requests were classified into medical or non-medical. The percentage of hospitalized patients in the pre-CC period was compared to that after CC activation, to assess the potential clinical gain of using CC. The calls were divided into 5 categories to evaluate a potential correlation between patients' number of calls and risk of hospitalization.
RESULTS
The CC received 11,080 calls and handled 11,972 requests. In particular, 63% of patients phoned monthly for a medical consultation, and 37% called for non-medical reasons. In 2012, the followed-up patients were 1658 with 230 IBD-caused hospitalizations (14%); in 2014, the followed-up patients were 1962 with 182 hospitalizations (9%) (p<0.01). The risk of hospitalization exponentially increased with the number of calls: from 3% for 0-5 calls to 41% with >30 calls (p<0.01).
CONCLUSION
A dedicated CC could provide additional clinical gain, care, and support for IBD patients.
Collapse