Conducting initial telephone consultations in primary care: a scoping review

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 for delivering telephone consultations in primary care. This review maps the evidence and can be used to inform clinical service and staff development.

A scoping review was conducted using Joanna Briggs Institute 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 A three-step search strategy was adopted to include published and unpublished literature in English from 2002 to 2017.

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 were 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 and 1506 patients. The key attributes for telephone consultations (components, skills and training) were synthesized into tabular display and provide guidance on the main elements required for providing this service in primary care.