Abstract

Objective. The study was aimed at finding out the Estonian family doctors’ attitude to the use of telephone consultations in their daily work.
Methods. Altogether 300 Estonian family doctors were asked to fill in a questionnaire on their experience in the use of telephone consultations. The items were general questions about the patients’ health status, medical problems and priorities, as well as specific questions about how often family doctors use telephone consultations in their daily work and how they evaluate the effectiveness of these consultations.
Results. Of the family doctors 27% showed very good experience in using telephone consultations in  their daily work and they use them equally with routine face-to-face consultations. Telephone consultations are more effective in the case of acute medical problems but not so effective in the case of chronic conditions. Conclusion.Estonian family doctors use telephone consultations as part of their daily work. Innovative telecommunication solutions (e.g. e-mail consultations, internet-chatting and internet based visits) can reduce the family doctors’ workload and help patients receive the doctor’s advice quicker and in a more convenient way.