A Bibliometric Analysis of Telephone Triage Research to 2021 Using VOSviewer

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Information Science

Background:

• Telephone triage services are widely adopted in healthcare.
• Challenges exist in understanding evidence-based best practices due to limited research, rapid technological changes, and varied terminology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a macroscopic overview of telephone triage research.
• To quantify the prevalence of terms used for telephone triage.
• To recommend consistent terminology for improved research accessibility.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of literature from Scopus and PubMed.
• Searches used keywords: "telephone triage," "remote triage," and "teletriage."
• Data visualized and analyzed using VOSviewer.

Main Results:

• Identified 784 papers since 1980, indicating a paucity of literature.
• Provided an overview of telephone triage research up to 2021.
• Identified research gaps and term prevalence.

Conclusions:

• Encourages consistent terminology to improve research accessibility and impact.
• Highlights the need for further research to support evidence-based practice in telephone triage.
• Provides a foundation for future research and application.