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Information-Seeking Patterns of U.S. Oncologists
CEOutcomes LLC, Aug 2009, Pages: 106
Oncologists come to their practice with deeply embedded knowledge and skills; when ambiguity occurs during a patient encounter, oncologists are often prompted to seek additional information and reflect on their actions. Understanding the current medical information-seeking patterns of physicians is critical when making educational design and support decisions related to continuing healthcare education.
CEOutcomes, Inc. surveyed a random stratified sample of 2000 U.S. practicing physicians in 16 specialties by fax and email from June through August, 2009 to investigate their information-seeking patterns. Data from the overall U.S. physician sample is provided in this report, along with a specific analysis of data from a sample of 125 oncologists representative of demographic characteristics of the U.S. oncologists population as defined by the American Medical Association Masterfile 2008.
Reflection in Practice: Encountering Clinical Questions
- Oncologists encounter, on average, seven clinical questions every week that arise during routine patient care requiring additional information.
- Questions most often relate to therapeutics and clinical practice guidelines.
Reflection in Practice: New Therapies
- One out of two oncologists uses Phase II study results as a minimal level of evidence to determine treatment regimens.
- The use of Phase II study results by oncologists is different than U.S. physicians of other specialties, where only 13% report using Phase II study results as a minimal level of evidence to determine treatment.
Reflection on Practice: Seeking Information
- On average, oncologists spend nearly four hours per week online seeking medical information.
- The search engine most frequently used by oncologists is Google. Oncologists reported accessing treatment guidelines on NCCN and ASCO websites. They also are most likely to look to Up-to-Date, PubMed and Medscape for additional medical informational needs.
Reflection on Practice: Staying Up-to-Date
To stay up-to-date on advances in therapies to treat particular conditions, oncologists rely on the following information sources:
- Articles in peer-reviewed journals
- Clinical practice guidelines
- Continuing medical education courses
- Opinions of nationally recognized experts
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