Responses to telephone inquiries made to craniofacial treatment teams

This report is a follow-up to an earlier research project concerning composition and function of self-identified teams listed in the ACP-CFA 1990 Membership-Team Directory. We address the types of responses provided by personnel answering telephones for teams listed in a recent Directory. Sixty of the 228 teams listed in the continental United States were randomly selected and divided into 2 groups of 30 each. One group was telephoned by an ACP-CFA member who is the parent of a patient with cleft palate; the other group was telephoned by a graduate student in speech-language pathology. Data indicate that Directory listing does not assure access to information pertinent to cleft lip, palate, and craniofacial anomalies; different type and manner of responses were made to the 2 callers; and inadequate information was often provided by the personnel who answer the telephones. Implications include the need for more training of personnel in responding to telephone inquiry and cautious use of the directory listings as a resource for referral.