Table 3.
Proportion of physicians who encounter clinical scenarios often or very often a , who rarely or never go against each ‘Smarter Medicine’ recommendation, and mean agreement with recommendation b .
| Clinical scenario | Category | Total (n = 167) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Patients with non-specific low-back pain | Encountered often or very often a | 138 (83%) |
| Rarely or never get imaging | 114 (68%) | |
| Mean agreement with recommendation not to get imaging for non-specific low-back pain (0–10) b | 9.0 (±1.9) | |
| 2. Prostate cancer screening using prostate-specific antigen test (PSA) | Encountered often or very often a | 97 (58%) |
| Discuss most of the time prior to screening | 116 (69%) | |
| Mean agreement with recommendation to discuss before screening (0–10) b | 8.9 (±1.7) | |
| 3. Upper respiratory tract infections without signs of complications | Encountered often or very often a | 152 (91%) |
| Rarely or never prescribe antibiotics for these infections | 113 (68%) | |
| Mean agreement with recommendation not to prescribe antibiotics for these infections (0–10) b | 9.1 (±1.5) | |
| 4. Patients without lung pathology for preoperative assessment | Encountered often or very often a | 79 (47%) |
| Rarely or never request a chest X-ray | 124 (74%) | |
| Mean agreement with recommendation not to request preoperative chest X-rays (0–10) b | 9.2 (±1.4) | |
| 5. Long-term use of proton pump inhibitors without confirmed pathology | Encountered often or very often a | 98 (59%) |
| Rarely or never continue medication without lowering dose | 56 (34%) | |
| Mean agreement with recommendation to not continue medication without lower dose (0–10) b | 8.9 (±1.4) |
a
Often defined as weekly and very often as very often.
b
On a 10-point Likert scale, from 0 (complete disagreement) to 10 (complete agreement).