Characterizing physicians' information needs at the point of care

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Information Science
• Clinical Practice

Background:

• Physicians face unmet information needs at the point of care.
• Uncertainty in selecting appropriate information resources is a barrier.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify physician information needs.
• To examine the relationship between these needs and the use of PubMed and UpToDate.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews with physicians from the United States and the Netherlands.
• Thematic analysis of interview data to categorize information needs.

Main Results:

• Six distinct physician information needs were identified: refreshing, confirming, logistics, teaching, idea generating, and personal learning.
• Physicians' descriptions of needs and resource selection were consistent across institutions.

Conclusions:

• The study identifies six key physician information needs relevant to clinical practice.
• Findings can inform medical education and evidence-based practice training for physicians.