Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telephone consultations for fever or gastroenteritis using a formalised procedure in general practice: study protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: Telephone consultations in general practice are on the increase. However, data on their efficiency in terms of out-of-hours general practitioner (GP) workload, visits to hospital emergency departments (ED), cost, patient safety and satisfaction are relatively scant. The aim of this trial is to assess the effectiveness of telephone consultations provided by French emergency call centres in patients presenting with isolated fever or symptoms of gastroenteritis, mainly encountered diseases.