Table 3.
Cost to the practices of providing the asthma review services.
| Cost in £ sterling | Telephone n = 137 | Surgery n = 141 | Difference (95% CI) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse costs | 677.76 | 755.70 | ||
| Telephone costs | 48.08 | 0 | ||
| Total cost of abortive calls/non-attendersa | 135.36 | 52.49 | ||
| Total cost of trial consultations (£) | 725.84 | 755.70 | ||
| Mean cost of trial consultation per eligible patient (SD) [Intention to treat analysis] | 5.30 (2.94) | 5.36 (6.00) | −0.06 (−1.18 to 1.06) | 0.914 |
| Mean cost of trial consultation per consultation achieved (SD) [101 telephone consultations versus 68 surgery consultations] | 7.19 (2.49) | 11.11 (3.50) | −3.92 (−4.84 to −3.01) | <0.001 |
a
Abortive call/did-not-attend cost/consultation achieved was calculated as follows: telephone group, cost of 141 abortive calls at 2 minutes of nurse time (£0.48/min) = £135.36; surgery group, cost of five did-not-attends at 21.87 minutes of nurse time (£0.48/min) = £52.49. SD = standard deviation.