What information sources do Dutch medical specialists use in medical decision-making: a qualitative interview study

ObjectiveTo explore what information sources medical specialists currently use to inform their medical decision-making.DesignQualitative, semistructured interviews.Setting and participantsA total of 20 semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 surgeons and 10 internal medicine specialists who...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ open 2023-10, Vol.13 (10), p.e073905-e073905
Main Authors: Weller, Floris S., Hamming, Jaap F., Repping, Sjoerd, van Bodegom-Vos, Leti
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical decision making
Clinical medicine
Clinical practice guidelines
clinical reasoning
COVID-19
Data analysis
Data collection
education & training (see medical education & training)
Evidence Based Practice
Hospitals
information management
Information sources
Internal medicine
Interviews
Medicine
Pandemics
Patients
Qualitative research
Surgeons
Teams
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Summary:ObjectiveTo explore what information sources medical specialists currently use to inform their medical decision-making.DesignQualitative, semistructured interviews.Setting and participantsA total of 20 semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 surgeons and 10 internal medicine specialists who work in academic and/or regional hospitals in the Netherlands.ResultsMedical specialists reported that they primarily rely on their general knowledge and experience, rather than actively using information sources. The sources they use to update their knowledge can be categorised into ‘scientific publications’, ‘guidelines or protocols’, and ‘presentations and meetings’. When medical specialists feel their general knowledge and experience are insufficient, they use three different approaches to find answers in response to clinical questions: consulting a colleague, actively searching the literature and asking someone else to search the literature.ConclusionMedical specialists use information sources to update their general knowledge and to find answers to specific clinical questions when they feel their general knowledge and experience are insufficient. An important finding is that medical specialists prefer accessible information sources (eg, consulting colleagues) over existing evidence-based medicine tools.
ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073905