title: Efficacy of a "contact center-based communication" in optimizing the care of inflammatory bowel diseases.
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.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A dedicated CC could provide additional clinical gain, care, and support for IBD patients.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Castiglione
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Imperatore
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy; Dean of Medicine of A.O.U. "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Testa
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rea
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Olga Maria
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Nardone
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gervetti
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Laura
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Taranto
authors.affiliation: Dean of Medicine of A.O.U. "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Onofrio
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Caporaso
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine "Federico II" of Naples, Italy. Electronic address: antoniorispo@email.it.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rispo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015277:Hotlines / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adherence; Contact center; Crohn; IBD; IBD-helpline; Ulcerative colitis