Desktop Helper No.11 - Remote Consultations

Desktop helper

This 2-page Desktop Helper is a practical guide for clinicians.  It provides an overview of when and where remote respiratory consultations could be used. It also offers practical advice on how to deliver them. It suggests how to prepare, how to conduct the remote consultation including a helpful infographic.   It also includes a checklist for both patients and healthcare professionals, examples of app-based technology that could be used and useful tests that can be done remotely.

Authors: Siân Williams and Tracey Lonergan supported by an expert panel of clinicians and patients listed below.

Reviewers: Joseph Wherton (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), Sundeep Salvi (PURE Foundation, Pune, India)    

Funding: Supported by Boehringer Ingelheim regarding the development, typesetting, printing and associated costs but did not contribute to the content of this document.

Date published: January 2021

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Infographics and checklists

Remote Respiratory Consultation Infographic

Checklist for HCPs

Checklist for patients

The expanded Chronic Care model (adapted by S Williams from Barr)

What are the challenges, barriers and policy implications of integrating remote consultations into primary health care delivery
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Remote Respiratory Consultations Videos - Asthma

IPCRG Remote Respiratory Consultation via video - Asthma
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Remote Respiratory Consultations Videos - COPD

Remote Respiratory Consultation - COPD

Remote Respiratory Consultation - COPD Transcript
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Remote Respiratory Consultations Videos - Breathlessness

Telephone consultation - breathlessness

Telephone Consultation - Breathlessness Transcript

App-based technology: examples shared by our team*

* Does not imply endorsement

Useful tests that can be done remotely**

** Links are to some examples of open source videos and instructions -  note none were designed specifically for remote consultations and we make no recommendations for any particular devices

Policy considerations

A position paper on policy has now been published in Journal of Health Services Research and Policy (see sidebar or click here).
Williams S, Barnard A, Collis P, Correia de Sousa J, Ghimire S, Habib M, Jelen T, Kanniess F, Mak V, Martins S, Paulino E, Pinnock H, Roman M, Sandelowsky H, Tsiligianni I, van der Steen L, Weber Donatelli F. Remote consultations in primary care across low-, middle- and high-income countries: Implications for policy and care delivery. J Health Serv Res Policy. 2022 Dec 9:13558196221140318. doi: 10.1177/13558196221140318. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36484225.

Meanwhile, we have found these references useful:

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Powerpoint Slides

Clinical and patient team

Amanda Barnard GP, Assistant Professor The Australian National University Canberra, Australia
Phil Collis Patient Advisory Group European Lung Foundation Leamington Spa, United Kingdom
Jaime Correia de Sousa GP, Assistant Professor (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho Braga, Portugal
Suraj Ghimire Primary care physician Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital Kathmandu, Nepal
Monsur Habib GP, PhD candidate Bangladesh Primary Care Respiratory Society (BPCRS) Khulna, Bangladesh
Tessa Jelen Patient British Lung Foundation Support Group, Westminster London, United Kingdom
Frank Kanniess GP Practice for Family Medicine and Allergy Reinfeld, Germany
Vince Mak Integrated Care Consultant Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust London, United Kingdom
Sonia Martins GP ABC Medical School(FMABC) Brazil
Ema Paulino Pharmacist EZFY Lisbon, Portugal
Hilary Pinnock GP, Professor of Primary Care Usher Institute, The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Miguel Román Rodríguez GP, Professor of Primary Care IdSBa Palma, Majorca, Spain
Hanna Sandelowsky GP, Researcher Karolinska Institutet, Inst. NVS, Dept. of Family Medicine and Primary Care Stockholm, Sweden
Ioanna Tsiligianni GP, Assistant Professor Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine

Crete, Greece
Laurine van der Steen Patient Masters degree of Nurse science, Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
Fabio Weber Donatelli Paediatrician ABC Medical School(FMABC) Brazil

Given the novelty of this work, we thank these participants for contributing their experience and ideas over the course of three experience-led care meetings as well as active debate about the content of the desktop helper and additional resources.