Telephone consultations

Up to a quarter of patient-physician interactions occur via telephone in settings such as US internal medicine and UK primary care.1 Telephone consultations have the potential to improve access, convenience, and choice and are the most common alternative to face-to-face consultations.2 Comparative studies show that patient are equally satisfied with both forms of consultation.345 However, randomised controlled trials and time series studies show that telephone consultations do not necessarily reduce workload for clinicians.56

There are times when they may be unsuitable. The lack of visual cues and inability to examine the patient are key disadvantages that necessitate careful consideration whether phone consultation is safe and effective.37 Phone consultations tend to narrowly focus on presenting symptoms, and patients are often not comprehensively assessed.8 A recent Cochrane review underlines the lack of training in phone consulting competencies, and audits suggest unwarranted variation in physicians’ behaviour on the phone.89 Based on best available evidence (sometimes expert opinion), we present an approach to telephone consultations in primary care that is largely applicable to other settings such as outpatient clinics. A subsequent complementary article will present a suggested approach to video consultations.