Follow-up telephone calls provide an opportunity for support, but require adequate resources
communication difficulties
Another difference from usual care, was the follow-up telephone calls for patients on the STAR care pathway. ESPs often acknowledged the requirement for extra resources to provide these. One ESP felt reassured however to be providing a link for patients as they felt that often those with problematic knees had experienced communication difficulties in the system somewhere, and the follow-up calls provided an extra opportunity to support those patients. Another ESP suggested that the follow-up telephone calls would be a better use of clinicians’ and patients’ time, being more convenient for the patient and possibly less expensive than face-to-face reviews in usual care.