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The role of telephone clinics in ENT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2023

M Brimioulle Open the ORCID record for M Brimioulle [Opens in a new window] ,
I Arih ,
A Pervaiz ,
W Patel ,
A Davies ,
M Sekyi-Djan ,
A Qureishi  and
K Chaidas
M Brimioulle*
Affiliation:
ENT Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
I Arih
Affiliation:
ENT Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
A Pervaiz
Affiliation:
ENT Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
W Patel
Affiliation:
ENT Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
A Davies
Affiliation:
ENT Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
M Sekyi-Djan
Affiliation:
ENT Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
A Qureishi
Affiliation:
ENT Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
K Chaidas
Affiliation:
ENT Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
*
Corresponding author: Dr M Brimioulle, ENT Department; John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Headley Way, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK E-mail: marina.brimioulle@gmail.com
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Abstract

Objective

This quality improvement project assessed the outcomes of telephone consultations for ENT patients in order to identify areas where telephone consultations may be useful in the long term.

Method

New ENT patient appointments in May 2019 and May 2020 were reviewed. Total outcomes as well as subspecialty-specific and presentation-specific outcomes were compared for telephone versus face-to-face consultations.

Results

There were 638 consultations in total (465 in 2019 and 173 in 2020). Following telephone consultations, more patients were followed up and fewer patients were listed for surgery or discharged. Overall outcomes for subspecialties followed the general trend, albeit with a few variations.

Conclusion

Lack of clinical examination in telephone consultations likely affects confidence in making a diagnosis and therefore discharging or listing patients for surgery. Nevertheless, looking at specialty-specific and presentation-specific data, there may be a role for telephone consultations in selected patients.

Keywords

Remote ConsultationOtolaryngologyQuality Improvement
Type
Main Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 137 , Issue 8 , August 2023 , pp. 914 - 920
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of J.L.O. (1984) LIMITED

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Footnotes

Dr M Brimioulle takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

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