Delivering remote consultations: Talking the talk.
L C Roberts, L Osborn-Jenkins
PMID 33132068WHAT IT FOUND
This masterclass reviews communication strategies for remote consultations, highlighting the need for explicit consent and adapted rapport-building due to missing non-verbal cues.
It synthesises existing literature and offers practical tips for clinicians, but reports no original data or trial outcomes.
What this paper is
This is a masterclass article discussing communication skills for remote healthcare consultations. It reviews existing literature and offers practical advice on interaction techniques, such as building rapport and obtaining consent, but it does not report original data from a new study. There are no methods, results, or outcomes from a specific trial to summarise, so there is no new evidence here to change clinical practice based on this paper alone.
What it does not show
The article is a narrative review and expert commentary, not a systematic review with a defined search strategy. It does not report original empirical data from a new study. The advice is based on general communication literature and the authors' experience, not on tested interventions for remote physiotherapy.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing interests. The research received no specific funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the specific communication techniques described, such as the 12-stage opening sequence, as evidence-based protocols proven to improve patient outcomes. They are expert recommendations for best practice derived from general interactional literature, not tested interventions.