Abstract
Objective: To determine the role of telephone consultations in respiratory medicine.
Design: An observational study.
Setting: Respiratory outpatients department in an inner London teaching hospital.
Participants: Five-hundred sequential patients attending three different outpatient respiratory clinics.
Intervention: Substitution of the next intended consultation with a telephone consultation.
Outcome measures: Proportion of patients suitable for telephone consultation, their availability when telephoned, length of consultation and patient satisfaction.
Conclusions: Telephone consultations are an effective alternative to traditional consultations in a third of respiratory patients attending for hospital follow-up. This style of consultation allows the option of not attending the hospital for a consultation and 23.9% had their consultation at their place of work.
Design: An observational study.
Setting: Respiratory outpatients department in an inner London teaching hospital.
Participants: Five-hundred sequential patients attending three different outpatient respiratory clinics.
Intervention: Substitution of the next intended consultation with a telephone consultation.
Outcome measures: Proportion of patients suitable for telephone consultation, their availability when telephoned, length of consultation and patient satisfaction.
Conclusions: Telephone consultations are an effective alternative to traditional consultations in a third of respiratory patients attending for hospital follow-up. This style of consultation allows the option of not attending the hospital for a consultation and 23.9% had their consultation at their place of work.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1665-1669 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Respiratory Medicine |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| Early online date | 19 Apr 2007 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2007 |
Keywords
- telephone consultations
- patient satisfaction
- patient surveys
- observational study