THE TELEPHONE IN PRIMARY-CARE

The telephone, a ubiquitous instrument in the practice of medicine, co ntinues to have new applications for clinical practice. The goals of t he ever-increasing managed care environment appear to fit nicely with these applications. Heightened attention toward telephone education, p rotocol development, and documentation are needed. This article review s characteristics of telephone encounters, the telephone in managed ca re, trends in ''telemedicine,'' telephone education, and medicolegal a spects of telephone care.