Gastroenterology and Liver Research Group, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research.
South Western Sydney Clinical School, The University of NSW.
Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Dec 1;33(1S Suppl 1):e771-e776. doi: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000002249.
This retrospective cohort study investigated the economic impact of implementing a nurse-led inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) advice-line and virtual clinic on the Australian healthcare system. The advice line is a telephone and email service managed by IBD specialist nurses. The virtual clinic is a planned, formal communication between the gastroenterologist and the specialist IBD nurse the result of which is communicated to the patient electronically.
Advice line telephone calls and virtual clinic consultations registered between 1 June 2015 and 1 June 2016 were reviewed and analyzed in terms of outcome: avoidance of general practitioner (GP) consultation, IBD outpatient consultation, emergency department (ED) presentation, or hospital admission. Cost-benefit analysis was conducted to estimate financial savings.
During the study period, 220 calls were received through the advice line and 1017 virtual clinic consultations occurred. The advice line resulted in the avoidance of 53 GP visits, 159 IBD outpatient department visits, six ED presentations, and one hospital admission. The virtual clinic resulted in the avoidance of four GP visits, 954 IBD outpatient department visits, and 58 ED presentations. This led to an estimated annual cost saving of AUD 169 376.80, with the annual costs incurred estimated to be $58 713. Thus, the annual net benefit of implementing the advice line and the virtual clinic was estimated to be $110 663.80.
Specialized-IBD-nurse-led advice line and virtual clinic improves IBD patients' access to services and reduces healthcare costs. This highlights the importance of a proactive multidisciplinary approach in optimizing the care of patients with IBD.
本回顾性队列研究调查了在澳大利亚医疗保健系统中实施护士主导的炎症性肠病（IBD）咨询热线和虚拟诊所对经济的影响。该咨询热线是由 IBD 专科护士管理的电话和电子邮件服务。虚拟诊所是指胃肠病学家和专科 IBD 护士之间有计划的正式沟通，其结果以电子方式传达给患者。
审查并分析了 2015 年 6 月 1 日至 2016 年 6 月 1 日期间通过咨询热线和虚拟诊所进行的电话咨询和虚拟诊所咨询，根据结果进行评估：避免全科医生（GP）咨询、IBD 门诊咨询、急诊部（ED）就诊或住院。进行成本效益分析以估算财务节省。
在研究期间，通过咨询热线收到了 220 个电话，进行了 1017 次虚拟诊所咨询。咨询热线避免了 53 次 GP 就诊、159 次 IBD 门诊就诊、6 次 ED 就诊和 1 次住院。虚拟诊所避免了 4 次 GP 就诊、954 次 IBD 门诊就诊和 58 次 ED 就诊。这估计每年节省费用 169376.80 澳元，每年的费用估计为 58713.00 澳元。因此，实施咨询热线和虚拟诊所的年净收益估计为 110663.80 澳元。
IBD 专科护士主导的咨询热线和虚拟诊所改善了 IBD 患者获得服务的机会并降低了医疗成本。这凸显了积极主动的多学科方法在优化 IBD 患者护理方面的重要性。
