An exploration of physiotherapy telephone services: Impact on patient and service outcomes. A narrative review

The demands on healthcare are intensifying and access times are rising. The appropriateness of telemedicine amongst the physiotherapy profession remains under question. This review aimed to explore the current evidence base and highlight methods in which services can be embedded more consistently. With the push for new methods of service delivery, this project fits well with the current climate. Methods Electronic databases, MEDLINE, CINAHL and PubMed were searched using basic and combination key terms without date restriction. Ethical Approval Ethical approval was not required as the work is not considered research. Results/Discussion Physiotherapy is considered by many, a hands‐on profession and failure to meet this expectation appears to take precedent over quality of care. Staff with prior experience view telephone services more positively and engage better. Interestingly no specific training requirements have been set to aid the development of staff in this new role. Telephone services are able to manage a modest proportion of patients however care must be taken to avoid increases in consulting time and costs via mechanisms such as repeated consultations. Patient choice, staff satisfaction and wider access also impacts on acceptability of these services for patients and staff. Conclusion(s) Telephone services offer flexible, alternative options for patients and support variation and skill development for staff however appear less satisfactory than usual care. Further research into areas such as patient expectation, staff training and evaluation of costs will develop the evidence base and support the use of telephone services within the physiotherapy profession.