Automated Phone System May Help Assist Arthritis Patients

Researchers at Stony Brook University received a $606,000 grant to continue studying a telephone-based program designed to help arthritis patients maintain better control of their pain.

The grant is from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, and will aid researchers in the further evaluation of a study involving an automated system used by patients through their home telephones.

According to a press release, “The study tests the effectiveness of providing follow-up support to patients for managing their pain by way of an automated system.”

The system, Therapeutic Interactive Voice Response (TIVR), will be used to determine if “benefits from a 10-visit treatment program provided by nurse practitioners for arthritis can be maintained in the months after treatment ends.”

By using the system, patients will have the opportunity to review and practice the pain management skills they have learned with the nurse whenever they want. Patients will also receive a personalized message from the nurse each month about their progress.

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This new telephone-based system should help people with arthritis maintain better control of their pain as well as be highly cost-effective for medical practices," said Dr. Broderick, research associate professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University, in a press release. "TIVR is simple to use, easily accessed from patients' homes, and takes up very little time for the patient to complete and the healthcare professional to process," she explained.