The Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Medical Advice Given by Telephone for Patients Calling for Primary Care (CMTp)

The Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Medical Advice Given by Telephone for Patients Calling for Primary Care

Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Medical Advice Given by Telephone for Primary Care: the Formalised Telephone Medical Advice Study, a Cluster Randomised Control Trial.

Telephone medical advice in general practice is expanding. The Cochrane Database concludes in 2008 that there is not enough data about its use regarding out-of-hours general practitioners workload, emergency department visits, cost, safety and patient satisfaction. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of telephone medical advice given by a general practitioner in a call centre for patient presenting isolated fever or gastroenteritis symptoms.

This is a prospective, open label, cluster randomized trial of 2 880 expected patients who calling a French emergency medical service Dial 15 for fever or gastroenteritis symptoms during out-of-hours periods. All calls will be taken by a general practitioner (GP). Out-of-hours period is defined as 8 PM to 8 AM on weekdays, 1 PM to 8PM on Saturdays in addition to Sundays and holidays.To be exhaustive, we will enrol patients during one year. In the experimental arm, the GP will implement a protocol of care to each patient call. The protocol includes medical advice, drug prescription by phone and supervisory board. Patients are invited to recall in case of worsening or onset of new symptoms and to get an appointment with their GP during working hours. In the non-interventional arm, the GP will decide the need of telephone advice with or without drug prescription, home visit by a doctor, emergency department services with or without EMS system. We will recall every patient at 15+/-4 days.

The physician will implement a protocol of care to each patient call for an isolated fever and/or symptoms of gastroenteritis: medical advice, drug prescription by phone and supervisory board. Patients are invited to recall in case of worsening or onset of new symptoms and to get an appointment with their general practitioner during working hours.

The physician will decide for the same disease (isolated fever and/or symptoms of gastroenteritis) the need of telephone advice with or without drug prescription, home visit by a doctor, emergency department services with or without EMS system.

The physician will implement a protocol of care to each patient call for an isolated fever and/or symptoms of gastroenteritis: medical advice, drug prescription by phone and supervisory board

The physician will decide for the same disease (isolated fever and/or symptoms of gastroenteritis) the need of telephone advice with or without drug prescription, home visit by a doctor, emergency department services with or without EMS system.

Proportion of patient with physical consultation by a general practitioner or in an emergency department, during out-of-hours periods

Proportion of patient with physical consultation by a general practitioner or in an emergency department, during out-of-hours periods

Cost effectiveness based on the economic analysis in each arm (sick leaves, hospitalization, EMS or firemen use...)

Inclusion Criteria: Disease: Fever: temperature ≥ 38 ° C Symptoms of gastroenteritis include nausea and / or vomiting and / or diarrhea Onset of symptoms for less than 72 hours Age ≥ 18 years caller Patient age ≥ 1 year Affiliation to the French National Health Service Exclusion Criteria: Pregnancy Severity criteria (fever> 41 ° C, disturbance of consciousness, rash, dyspnea, signs of dehydration, chest pain, neurological signs, gastrointestinal bleeding) Seeking advice from institutional correspondents (fire brigade, police, airport…) Communication difficulties (non-communicating patient, language barrier...)

Reuter PG, Durand-Zaleski I, Ducros O, Grignon O, Megy-Michoux I, Sourbes A, Desmettre T, Javaud N, Lapostolle F, Vicaut E, Adnet F. Efficacy of emergency medical center use of a protocol during telephone calls to give medical advice related to fever or gastroenteritis: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Emergencias. 2021 Aug;33(4):292-298. English, Spanish.

Reuter PG, Desmettre T, Guinemer S, Ducros O, Begey S, Ricard-Hibon A, Billier L, Grignon O, Megy-Michoux I, Latouff JN, Sourbes A, Latier J, Durand-Zaleski I, Lapostolle F, Vicaut E, Adnet F. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telephone consultations for fever or gastroenteritis using a formalised procedure in general practice: study protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2016 Sep 22;17(1):461. doi: 10.1186/s13063-016-1585-9.