[Therapeutic patient education in health centers in the Lorraine region of France - an EPATEL study].

The purpose of this paper is to map out the Therapeutic Patient Education activities of health centers in the Lorraine region of France in the months leading up to the promulgation of the HPST law (reform of the French Public Hospital system) defining and regulating TPE. A self-administered survey and interviews were conducted to identify the educational activities offered by the program (structure, training of professionals, links with general practitioners, etc.) and to quantify them (number of patients, classes, etc.). All health centers in Lorraine were contacted (193 centers in total). 93 centers responded and 48?reported TPE activities, with 131 functional TPE courses (or structured activities) and 40 projects. An analysis based on 8 quality criteria was carried out. The study found that 49 centers met at least 6 quality criteria and were close to the required quality standards. The study also found that the geographical distribution of TPE provision is unbalanced. The number of TPE beneficiaries in a given semester varies between 0 and 24 patients per 1,000 inhabitants (according to the health area), which amounts to 5% of chronically ill people in the Lorraine region.