Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 11, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
A preliminary study of the decision-making process within general practice
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
Objective:
The aim of the present study was to explore the factors that contribute to the process of decision making within general practice, over and above evidence-based information.
Methods:
A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews on a purposeful sample of GPs, based in the South West of England. Each interview was tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Results:
Five broad categories emerged from the data: practitioner; patient; practitioner-patient relationship; verbal and non-verbal communication; evidence-based medicine; and external factors.
Conclusion:
The nature of general practice is such that the process of making clinical decisions is complex. In an era when GPs are being overwhelmed by evidence-based information, consideration needs to be given to the implications that the nature of the decision-making process has upon the way 'evidence' is constructed and promoted within general practice.
Related Concept Videos
Critical Thinking II
Decision Making
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...
Ethical Dilemmas II
Reason and Intuition
Methods of Documentation III: PIE
Patient-centered Care