Infectious disease hotlines to provide advice to general practitioners: a prospective study.

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Public Health

Background:

• Telephone hotlines are integral to infectious disease (ID) management and antimicrobial stewardship programs.
• These services aim to provide expert ID support and combat antibiotic resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the activity of ID hotlines.
• To estimate the usefulness of ID hotlines for general practitioners (GPs).

Main Methods:

• A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted across different French regions.
• ID teams recorded hotline advice provided to GPs from April 2019 to June 2022.
• The primary outcome measured was the usage rate of ID hotlines by GPs.

Main Results:

• 4138 requests for advice were collected from 2171 GPs across ten ID teams.
• GP hotline usage varied widely by region (54% in Isere to <1%).
• Key reasons for calls included diagnostic questions (44%) and antibiotic choice (31%), with advice focusing on antibiotic therapy (43%).

Conclusions:

• ID hotlines can enhance collaboration between primary care and hospital medicine.
• Sustaining these services requires careful consideration of institutional and financial support.
• Regional variations in usage underscore the importance of dedicated resources and hotline age.