The value of telephone consultations during COVID-19 pandemic. An observational study

Summary Background Many Spanish hospitals converted scheduled in-person visits to telephone visits during the COVID-19 lockdown. There is scarce information about the performance of those visits. Aim To compare telephone visits during the COVID-19 lockdown period with previous in-person visits. Design Retrospective descriptive study. Methods Telephone visits from 15 March to 31 May 2020 were compared with in-person visits during the same period in 2019. Main measures The proportions of both groups were compared in term of failure to contact patient, requested diagnostic tests/referrals, discharges, admissions and emergency visits within 30–60 days. A sample of patients, and all participating physicians completed surveys. Z-score test was used (statistical significance P