The telephone in primary care.

The telephone, a ubiquitous instrument in the practice of medicine, continues to have new applications for clinical practice. The goals of the ever-increasing managed care environment appear to fit nicely with these applications. Heightened attention toward telephone education, protocol development, and documentation are needed. This article reviews characteristics of telephone encounters, the telephone in managed care, trends in "telemedicine," telephone education, and medicolegal aspects of telephone care.