Managing naïve multiple sclerosis patients: how firstline oral medications modify educational time

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease requiring a multidisciplinary approach. Multiple sclerosis nurses are involved in all aspects of care, in particular in patients' education about disease-modifying drugs. The availability of oral firstline treatments has had a considerable impact on disease management. The aim of this study was to valuate if the introduction of oral therapies has led to a change in nurses' time spent on education, empowerment and training. A retrospective study was conducted enrolling naïve patients with relapsing-remitting mutliple sclerosis. Working time spent by nurses was compared between patients treated with oral versus injectable drugs. Correlations between time and clinical variables were investigated. A total of 55 patients were enrolled (34 using injectable and 21 using oral medication). For the oral group, less work time (P=0.018) and number of meetings (P=0.004) were needed. Dimethyl fumarate needed a lower number of meetings compared with other drugs. The availability of oral drugs seemed to reduce the amount of working time nurses spent with naïve patients' discussing education and treatment.