Face-to-face and telephone appointments in the seizure clinic: A comparative analysis based on recorded interactions.

Objective: Telephone appointments are now widely used in seizure treatment, but there is little understanding of how they compare to face-to-face appointments. Studies from other fields suggest that comparisons can be done on three levels: 1) Abstract level: duration of appointment. 2) Structural level: distribution of talk. 3) Detailed level: aspects of communication. This study aims to compare seizure clinic face-to-face and telephone appointments based on their duration, distribution of talk, and the number of questions asked by patients/companions.

Methods: Statistical comparison between recordings and transcripts of 34 telephone appointments (recorded in 2021) and 56 face-to-face appointments (recorded in 2013).

Results: There was no significant difference between the duration of face-to-face (median: 16.5 min) and telephone appointments (median: 16.2 min). There was no significant difference in the ratio of neurologist to patient/companion talk (face-to-face: 55% vs. 45%, telephone: 54% vs. 46%). Patients/companions asked significantly more questions per minute in face-to-face (median: 0.17) than telephone appointments (median: 0.06, p < 0.05).

Conclusion: At a broad level, seizure clinic face-to-face and telephone appointments are similar. Examining the details of the interaction, however, reveals important differences in questioning.

Practice Implications: Practitioners could take steps to facilitate patient questioning in telephone appointments.