Patient-centred support for retinal diseases: Introduction of a telephone-based patient support programme

BackgroundPatients with retinal diseases and their relatives face many challenges that may negatively impact treatment adherence that is required to maintain visual acuity. Patient support programmes (PSPs) may contribute to improve the understanding of the disease/therapy and promote intrinsically motivated treatment adherence. MethodsIn September 2023, a PSP was established for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic macular oedema (DME) or macular oedema due to retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and their relatives. As part of the PSP, each participant is individually supported by a personal contact through regular support calls. To gain an increasingly better understanding of patient needs, reactively collected health- and therapy-related data is stored in an anonymised manner. ResultsSince the start of the PSP, a total of 207 participants have registered for the PSP, with the majority being patients with nAMD (77.8%). The main topic of interest among patients and relatives was the diagnosis of nAMD (25.4% and 26.4% of respective inbound calls). Key patient topics also included treatment-related aspects such as application intervals (16.8%), treatment adherence (11.2%) and nAMD therapy (12.2%). Relatives were particularly interested in legal and social issues and assistive devices (14.3% and 13.2%, respectively). ConclusionsThe results indicate that there is a need for an individual care, e.g. provided by a PSP, for patients with retinal diseases. PSPs should be considered a complementary support to the medical treatment or care provided by physicians.