Box 3.

Acquiring skills for telephone communication

Training in telephone consultation skills should focus on

• Active listening and detailed history taking
• Frequent clarifying and paraphrasing (to ensure that the messages have been got across in both directions)
• Picking up cues (such as pace, pauses, change in voice intonation)
• Offering opportunities to ask questions
• Offering patient education
• Documentation

As the assessment is based solely on the history, and the management plan cannot be reinforced with non-verbal cues, being systematic in covering all issues is especially important