Telephone Medicine

Home-based medical care relies more upon telephone encounters than an office-based practice. Homebound individuals may call in with urgent issues at times when a provider may not be available to do a house call. These cases can be unpredictable and stressful for inexperienced clinicians. When addressing problems by phone, providers need to quickly assess and triage the issue based on the history obtained from patients and caregivers. Medical devices and technology in the patient’s home may provide additional data, as could ancillary services performing an urgent visit. Previously established advanced directives will help guide management and disposition for the patient.