Phone reviews as effective
04 October 2006

Telephone asthma reviews are just as effective as standard face-to-face consultations and can actually increase confidence in people with asthma says a recent study.

Dr Hilary Pinnock, a GP in Whitstable, Kent, and a clinical research fellow at Edinburgh University, studied 1,213 people with asthma from her surgery over a one-year period. Participants were divided into two groups with one group provided with only face-to-face reviews and the second group offered the option of a telephone review.

Questionnaires sent out a year later found that telephone assessment was just as effective in terms of asthma control and quality of life, but also that the group with the telephone review option felt better able to manage variations in their condition and had more confidence in the care provided.

‘We saw 12% more people by using telephone asthma reviews and the patients who had the telephone reviews felt more empowered to manage their conditions,’ explained Dr Pinnock.

People with asthma are advised to have an asthma review with their doctor or asthma nurse every 12 months if their symptoms are well controlled or more often if their symptoms are difficult to control.

‘This is really good news all round,’ said Erica Evans, Asthma UK’s Care Development Manager. ‘By using telephone reviews doctors and asthma nurses are able to keep up to date with a patient’s progress and people with asthma feel more able to control their condition.’

The Asthma UK Adviceline received more than 8,000 calls and 2,000 emails last year, with the majority of people requesting information and advice about their medicines and symptoms.

She continued: ‘We know from our own feedback on the Asthma UK Adviceline that people value telephone contact and we hope that this study encourages more surgeries to try it.’