Conducting initial telephone consultations in primary care: a scoping review.

Cooper, Kay; Alexander, Lyndsay

Abstract

Background - Telephone consultations are increasingly used in primary care to deliver healthcare services to patients. However, there has been no review produced which identifies and maps the elements of the components, skills and training required to deliver telephone consultations in primary care. This review maps the evidence and can be used to inform clinical service and staff development. Method - A scoping review was conducted using JBI methodology. Inclusion criteria for this review included: Participants – any study focusing on any qualified healthcare practitioner working within primary care services; Concept – was any initial telephone consultation within primary care; Context – was primary care within developed nations defined as having very high human development. A three step search strategy was adopted to include published and unpublished literature in English from 2002 to 2017. Results - The search identified 3378 sources of literature. Two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts then full text against the inclusion criteria which resulted in 18 articles included in this scoping review. Data was extracted by two independent reviewers relevant to the review question: components, skills and training in telephone consultations. The 18 articles involved five countries, 144 healthcare professionals and between 55-1506 patients. The key attributes for telephone consultations (components, skills and training) were synthesised into tabular display and provide guidance on the main elements required for providing this service in primary care.

Citation

COOPER, K. and ALEXANDER, L. 2019. Conducting initial telephone consultations in primary care: a scoping review. International journal of evidence-based healthcare [online], 17(Supplement 1), pages S38-S40. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1097/XEB.0000000000000179

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 12, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jun 1, 2019
• Publication Date: Jun 30, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jul 9, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 2, 2020
• Journal: International journal of evidence-based healthcare
• Print ISSN: 1744-1595
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-1609
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: Supplement 1
• Pages: S38-S40
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/XEB.0000000000000179
• Keywords: Telephone consultation; Telephone assessment; Primary care
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/320228