Table 1.
Respondent physician characteristics (N = 79)
| Physician characteristics | N (%)* |
|---|---|
|
Age |
|
| < 40 years |
68 (86) |
| 40 to 60 years |
11 (14) |
|
Gender |
|
| Male |
45 (57) |
| Female |
34 (43) |
|
Physician level of practice |
|
| Housestaff |
48 (61) |
| Attending |
31 (39) |
|
Current or planned clinical practice |
|
| Primary care internal medicine |
40 (51) |
| Internal medicine subspecialty |
37 (47) |
| Undecided |
2 (3) |
|
Current or planned practice location |
|
| Metropolitan |
74 (94) |
| Suburban |
7 (9) |
| Rural |
0 (0) |
|
Self-Reported factors influencing clinical practice
†
|
|
| Supportive evidence |
76 (96) |
| Prior or local practice patterns (culture) |
71 (90) |
| Prior experience |
56 (71) |
| Patient demand |
42 (53) |
| Malpractice concern |
29 (37) |
| Hospital profit |
14 (18) |
| Individual profit |
9 (11) |
|
Sources of information used to inform clinical practice
†
|
|
| Peer-reviewed journals |
64 (81) |
| Practice guidelines |
60 (76) |
| Prior experience |
44 (56) |
| Other resources |
36 (46) |
| Continuing medical education events (local and national) | 9 (11) |
*Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding.
†Responses not mutually exclusive.