Article

PURPOSE: To describe i) nurse's utilisation and associated costs during 4-year
tele-assistance in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) ii) optimal time for
initiating tele-assistance. METHOD: 73 ALS patients after hospital discharge were
followed up on voice by phone calls conducted by a nurse through a clinical card
which was tested for feasibility, efficacy and utility. Number of patients
simultaneously assisted/month, calls/patient, fixed and variable costs were
calculated. RESULTS: Time between disease's diagnosis and the beginning of
tele-assistance was 720 +/- 971 days. ALS patients' percentage managed by nurses
through tele-assistance increased over time by 628%. Tele-assistance integrated
care (TAIC) followed up patients with a total of 5073 telephone calls. Steady
state activity was reached at the 3rd year employing 5 +/- 3 calls/pt/month
(time/call 64 +/- 44 min). Implementing the card was feasible, useful and
effective by operator. Survival from diagnosis of ALS was 1224 +/- 1150 days.
Survival was related to tracheotomy. CONCLUSION: TAIC is a feasible tool to
manage up to 25 ALS patients/month/nurse and costs about euro105.00 per patient
per month. Tele-assistance is proposed at 2/3 of time course of the disease.

Langue : ANGLAIS