The impacts of an inflammatory bowel disease nurse specialist on the quality of care and costs in Finland.

INTRODUCTION

A specialized inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) nurse is considered a valuable and cost-effective member of a multidisciplinary team, not all clinics responsible for IBD care employ such nurses. We evaluated IBD nurse resources, quality of care and cost effects on IBD patients care in a nationwide study in Finland.

METHODS

A healthcare professional electronic survey was conducted in order to assess the impact of an IBD nurse on the quality of care. To study the cost effects, we obtained nationwide comprehensive data covering years between 2008 and 2016 from major administrative healthcare districts of Finland. Patients with a diagnosis of IBD (ICD-code K50 or K51) were identified from the data and their personal contacts and hospitalization were analyzed. The results were compared between healthcare districts with an IBD nurse and healthcare districts without an IBD nurse.

RESULTS

Forty-nine physicians and 88 nurses responded to the survey. Of the physicians, 92% reported that an established IBD nurse had released physician's resources. The most important IBD nurse contributions listed were patient support and follow-up (79-81% of the respondents). Healthcare district, which had an established IBD nurse, produced more patient contacts. A larger proportion of the contacts was managed by the IBD nurse. Clinics with an IBD nurse reported less patient hospitalization (4-9% vs 11-19%, p < .001). Estimated annual cost savings while employing an IBD nurse may be significant.

CONCLUSION

The introduction of an IBD nurse led to better quality of care and potentially significant cost savings by reducing hospitalization rates and reallocating physician's time resources.