Table 2.
Consultations when uncertain about what to do with a patient
| Question | No (%) of physicians from: |
|
|---|---|---|
| family medicine | university hospitals | |
| Do you sometimes need help to choose diagnosis or therapy for your patient?* |
||
| yes |
313 (89.4) |
201 (90.1) |
| no |
37 (10.6) |
22 (9.9) |
| When you do not know what to do with a patient, in any part of the work-up, where do you seek help? |
||
| books |
232 (66.3) |
152 (68.1) |
| colleagues |
295 (84.3) |
172 (77.1) |
| research articles |
165 (47.1) |
135 (6.5) |
| promotional material of pharmaceutical companies |
119 (34.0) |
37 (16.6) |
| internet |
251 (71.7) |
163 (73.1) |
| other |
3 (0.9) |
0 |
| Do you have Internet access at work?* |
||
| yes |
347 (99.1) |
186 (83.4) |
| no |
3 (0.9) |
37 (16.6) |
| Do you use the internet to solve dilemmas about patients?* |
||
| yes |
229 (65.4) |
182 (81.6) |
| no |
121 (34.6) |
41 (18.4) |
| Which internet sources do you use? |
||
| search engines (Google, etc.) |
186 (53.1) |
80 (35.9) |
| PubMed |
20 (5.7) |
119 (53.4) |
| specialized evidence-based medicine databases |
42 (12.0) |
52 (23.3) |
| other | 3 (0.9) | 18 (8.1) |
*P < 0.01, χ2 test.