Journal Scan - Recent Telephealth Care Literature

The literature regarding telephone care in the last year continues to reflect the use of the telephone in the areas of telephone triage and evaluation of telephone call centers, disease management, reminder/recall efforts and education and support. Articles of interest by category are listed below. In addition, there are several articles that may be of particular interest to the practicing pediatrician. (see *)

Quality and Reimbursement
Telephone Triage and Call Center Evaluation
Telephone and Web-based Technologies for Disease Management
Telephone Reminder-Recall

Quality and Reimbursement

Does telephone triage delay significant medical treatment?: Advice nurse service vs on-call pediatricians (Lee et al). This randomized controlled trial demonstrated no difference between patients triaged by physicians versus advice nurses in the proportion of callers who sought unadvised care or in the proportion who received unadvised significant medical care.

Outcomes associated with pediatric after-hours care by call centers: a multicenter study (Kempe et al). This study, conducted by the Pediatric Telephone Care Research Network, assessed reported outcomes in children triaged by call centers at children's hospitals in four U.S. sites. In addition, using expert panel review of audiotaped calls by reviewers blinded to outcome of call, this study estimated an underreferral rate associated with hospitalization of approximately 0.3% (95% CI 0.1-0.7%) or 1 in 481 calls (95% CI 1/152 to 1/1538).

Pediatric after-hours telephone triage and advice: who benefits and who pays? (Melzer) This editorial updates the issues regarding reimbursement for after-hours telephone care and discusses the role of the Section on Telephone Care in the effort to address problems with reimbursement for telephone care.

Reimbursement for pediatric diabetes intensive case management: a model for chronic diseases? (Beck et al) and Quality improvement and cost reduction realized by a purchaser through diabetes disease management. (Snyder et al) These articles describe cost savings and quality improvements after contracting with a third-party payor to reimburse for diabetes case management components, including 24/7 telephone access or periodic telephone visits. Although both studies had methodological limitations (pre-post comparisons rather than randomized controlled trials, small numbers in the study by Beck et al), they provide important preliminary data regarding the promise of provision of telephone care in children with chronic diseases.

Telephone Triage and Call Center Evaluation

Eminovic N. Wyatt JC. Tarpey AM. Murray G. Ingrams GJ. First evaluation of the NHS Direct Online Clinical Enquiry Service: A Nurse-led Web Chat Triage Service for the Public. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 6(2):E17, 2004 Jun 2.

Richards DA. Meakins J. Godfrey L. Tawfik J. Dutton E. Survey of the impact of nurse telephone triage on general practitioner activity. British Journal of General Practice. 54(500):207-10, 2004 Mar.

Scarfone RJ. Luberti AA. Mistry RD. Outcomes of children referred to an emergency department by an after-hours call center. Pediatric Emergency Care. 20(6):367-72, 2004 Jun.

Jossi F. Call center triage. Advanced software plus capable nurses offer late-night answers and comfort. Healthcare Informatics. 21(3):39-40, 2004 Mar.

O'Hanley P. Telephone triage: the quiet revolution in Canada. Telemedicine Journal & E-Health. 10(1):109-11, 2004 Spring.

Hanson RM. Exley BJ. Ngo P. Fitzpatrick MP. Petering EL. Matthews SJ. Lechner D. Daniels CJ. Paediatric telephone triage and advice: the demand continues. Medical Journal of Australia. 180(7):333-5, 2004 Apr 5.

Pulier ML. Ciccone DS. Castellano C. Marcus K. Schleifer SJ. Medical versus nonmedical mental health referral: clinical decision-making by telephone access center staff. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. 30(4):444-51, 2003 Oct-Dec.

* Lee TJ. Baraff LJ. Guzy J. Johnson D. Woo H. Does telephone triage delay significant medical treatment?: Advice nurse service vs on-call pediatricians. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 157(7):635-41, 2003 Jul.

Custer M. O'Rourke KM. Roddy M. King R. Sprinkle L. Horne E. The impact of a nursing triage line on the use of emergency department services in a military hospital. Military Medicine. 168(12):981-5, 2003 Dec.

Lee TJ. Baraff LJ. Wall SP. Guzy J. Johnson D. Woo H. Parental compliance with after hours telephone triage advice: nurse advice service versus on-call pediatricians. Clinical Pediatrics. 42(7):613-9, 2003 Sep.

Mark AL. Shepherd ID. How has NHS Direct changed primary care provision? Journal of Telemedicine & Telecare. 9 Suppl 1:S57-9, 2003.

Charles-Jones H. May C. Latimer J. Roland M. Telephone triage by nurses in primary care: what is it for and what are the consequences likely to be? Journal of Health Services & Research Policy. 8(3):154-9, 2003 Jul.

* Melzer SM. Pediatric after-hours telephone triage and advice: who benefits and who pays?[comment]. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 157(7):617-8, 2003 Jul.

Leibowitz R. Day S. Dunt D. A systematic review of the effect of different models of after-hours primary medical care services on clinical outcome, medical workload, and patient and GP satisfaction. Family Practice. 20(3):311-7, 2003 Jun.

Monaghan R. Clifford C. McDonald P. Seeking advice from NHS direct on common childhood complaints: does it matter who answers the phone? Journal of Advanced Nursing. 42(2):209-16, 2003 Apr.

Cariello FP. Computerized telephone nurse triage. An evaluation of service quality and cost. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management. 26(2):124-37, 2003 Apr-Jun.

Ledlow GR. O'Hair HD. Moore S. Predictors of communication quality: the patient, provider, and nurse call center triad. Health Communication. 15(4):431-55, 2003.

Bruns J. Calling for automation. Pediatric call center at a Missouri children's hospital sees lower call times and higher productivity from a fully automated system. Health Management Technology. 24(10):22, 25-7, 2003 Oct

Labarere J. Torres JP. Francois P. Fourny M. Argento P. Gensburger X. Menthonnex P. Patient compliance with medical advice given by telephone. American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 21(4):288-92, 2003 Jul.

* Kempe A. Luberti A. Belman S. Hertz A. Sherman H. Amin D. Dempsey C. Chandramouli U. MacKenzie T. Outcomes associated with pediatric after-hours care by call centers: a multicenter study. Ambulatory Pediatrics. 3(4):211-7, 2003 Jul-Aug.

Divis KL. The Web-enabled call center: adding voice capabilities to your Web site. Journal of Healthcare Information Management. 17(1):14-5, 2003 Winter

Espino JU. Hogan WR. Wagner MM. Telephone Triage: A Timely Data Source for Surveillance of Influenza-like Diseases. Proceedings / AMIA Annual Symposium. :215-9, 2003.

Telephone and Web-based Technologies for Disease Management

Byczkowski TL. Kotagal UR. Britto MT. Wilmott RW. Perceptions of value of routine care among patients with cystic fibrosis and their families. Pediatric Pulmonology. 37(3):210-6, 2004 Mar.

* Beck JK. Logan KJ. Hamm RM. Sproat SM. Musser KM. Everhart PD. McDermott HM. Copeland KC. Reimbursement for pediatric diabetes intensive case management: a model for chronic diseases? Pediatrics. 113(1 Pt 1):e47-50, 2004 Jan.

* Snyder JW. Malaskovitz J. Griego J. Persson J. Flatt K. Quality improvement and cost reduction realized by a purchaser through diabetes disease management. Disease Management. 6(4):233-41, 2003 Winter.

Chiari G. Ghidini B. Vanelli M. Effectiveness of a toll-free telephone hotline for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. A 5-year study. Acta Bio-Medica de l Ateneo Parmense. 74 Suppl 1:45-8, 2003.

Allen HF. Yarnie S. Murray MA. Reiter EO. Personnel costs and perceived benefit of telephone care in the management of children with type 1 diabetes. [Journal Article] Pediatric Diabetes. 3(2):95-100, 2002 Jun.

Young TL. Ireson C. Effectiveness of school-based telehealth care in urban and rural elementary schools. Pediatrics. 112(5):1088-94, 2003 Nov.

Telephone Reminder-Recall

LeBaron CW. Starnes DM. Rask KJ. The impact of reminder-recall interventions on low vaccination coverage in an inner-city population. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 158(3):255-61, 2004 Mar.

Reti S. Improving outpatient department efficiency: a randomized controlled trial comparing hospital and general-practice telephone reminders. New Zealand Medical Journal. 116(1175):U458, 2003 Jun 6