A literature review of the potential of telephone follow‐up in colorectal cancer

Aims. The aim of this review is to examine the potential of telephone follow‐up for patients with colorectal cancer. Background. More people are surviving cancer and entering into follow‐up care. It is recognised that improvements in cancer follow‐up care are needed in the UK. Telephone use has proved a very successful medium for conducting health care in other specialties and may offer an acceptable alternative to face‐to‐face follow‐up appointments. Nurse specialists could assume responsibility for patients’ follow‐up by offering telephone consultations. Design. A literature review was conducted via a systematic electronic and hand search of relevant literature. Method. Thematic content analysis was used to achieve the objectives of the review. Results. The findings demonstrate that telephone follow‐up conducted by an experienced nurse specialist is cost‐effective and accepted by the majority of patients. Aspects of care such as symptom management and reassurance are possible over the phone. Conclusion. Telephone follow‐up meets patients’ satisfaction, support and information needs and has potential to deliver high standards of aftercare when conducted by a nurse specialist. It is at least equivalent to traditional follow‐up in meeting the needs of patients with cancer. Because of the disparity of the studies examined, further research in the area of nurse‐led telephone follow‐up vs. nurse‐led traditional follow‐up would be constructive in the development of this new initiative. Relevance to clinical practice. Nurses are now increasingly involved in patient follow‐up care and telephone dialogue after hospital discharge. However, the ideal structure, method and timing of telephone follow‐up as well as the skills required to carry out such care over the phone are often not considered and have not been articulated. The option of telephone follow‐up could, for some patients, dramatically improve their care experience.