Knowledge resource preferences of family physicians

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Clinical Decision Support
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Medical knowledge is crucial for effective clinical problem-solving.
• Understanding clinician knowledge-seeking behaviors is vital for improving patient care.
• Existing research on how physicians select knowledge resources is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how family physicians seek and choose medical knowledge resources for patient care.
• To identify the most and least utilized knowledge resources among practicing physicians.
• To determine the factors influencing physicians' decisions when selecting among knowledge resources.

Main Methods:

• A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 126 family physicians.
• Physicians reported their usage of 11 distinct types of medical knowledge resources.
• Physicians also reported on factors influencing their resource selection process.

Main Results:

• Physicians reported near-daily use of the Physicians' Desk Reference and frequent use of colleagues.
• Index Medicus and computer-based bibliographic retrieval systems were infrequently used.
• Medical research literature was used sparingly and rated low in credibility, availability, searchability, understandability, and applicability.
• Resource cost, clinical availability, and applicability were more influential than information quality in resource selection.

Conclusions:

• Physicians prioritize practical aspects like availability and applicability over resource quality when seeking clinical information.
• Current medical knowledge resources may not meet the practical needs of clinicians at the point of care.
• Development and deployment of clinical knowledge resources should consider physician workflow and practical utility.