Family practice nurses and the telephone

Area of Science:

• Family Medicine
• Nursing Practice
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Telephone consultations are integral to primary care.
• Understanding nurse-led telephone patient problem management is essential for efficient healthcare delivery.
• The study addresses a gap in characterizing nurse telephone interactions in family medicine.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify patient problems managed by nurses over the phone.
• To quantify the time nurses dedicate to telephone patient care.
• To explore nurses' responses to telephone-presented patient issues.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study involving nurses from four family medical centers.
• Data collection via a custom data sheet for 2125 telephone calls over two one-week periods.
• Analysis of call characteristics, management types, and nurse-led interventions.

Main Results:

• The majority of telephone calls (2125) were brief (≤3 minutes).
• Common nurse-managed issues included prescription renewal, reassurance, and health teaching.
• Most calls occurred on Mondays and during afternoons, initiated by patients.

Conclusions:

• Nurses effectively manage a range of patient problems independently via telephone.
• Telephone interactions are a significant, time-efficient component of primary care nursing.
• Further research could optimize nurse-led telephone care protocols.