How does older age influence oncologists' cancer management?

BACKGROUND: Over half of new cancer cases occur in patients aged > or = 65 years. Many older patients can benefit from intensive cancer therapies, yet evidence suggests that this population is undertreated. METHODS: To assess preferences and influential factors in geriatric cancer management, practicing U.S. medical oncologists completed a survey containing four detailed vignettes exploring colon, breast, lung, and prostate cancer treatment. Participants were randomly assigned one of two surveys with vignettes that were identical except for patient age (<65 years or >70 years). RESULTS: Physicians in each survey group (n = 200) were demographically similar. Intensive therapy was significantly less likely to be recommended for an older than for a younger, but otherwise identical, patient in two of the scenarios. For a woman with metastatic colon cancer (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group [ECOG] score, 1) for whom chemotherapy was recommended, nearly all oncologists chose an intensive regimen if the patient's age was 63; but if her age was 85, one fourth of the oncologists chose a less intensive treatment. Likewise, for stage IIA breast cancer (ECOG score, 0), 93% recommended intensive adjuvant treatment for a previously healthy patient aged 63; but only 66% said they would do so if the patient's age was 75. Oncologists commonly identified patient age as an influence on treatment choice, but were even more likely to cite performance status as a determining factor. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced age can deter oncologists from choosing intensive cancer therapy, even if patients are highly functional and lack comorbidities. Education on tailoring cancer treatment and a greater use of comprehensive geriatric assessment may reduce cancer undertreatment in the geriatric population.

Knowledge and attitudes of primary care physicians in the management of patients at risk for cardiovascular events.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to clinical practice guidelines for management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is suboptimal. The purposes of this study were to identify practice patterns and barriers among U.S. general internists and family physicians in regard to cardiovascular risk management, and examine the association between physician characteristics and cardiovascular risk management. METHODS: A case vignette survey focused on cardiovascular disease risk management was distributed to a random sample of 12,000 U.S. family physicians and general internists between November and December 2006. RESULTS: Responses from a total of 888 practicing primary care physicians who see 60 patients per week were used for analysis. In an asymptomatic patient at low risk for cardiovascular event, 28% of family physicians and 37% of general internists made guideline-based preventive choices for no antiplatelet therapy (p < .01). In a patient at high risk for cardiovascular event, 59% of family physicians and 56% of general internists identified the guideline-based goal for serum fasting LDL level (< 100 mg/dl). Guideline adherence was inversely related to years in practice and volume of patients seen. Cost of medications (87.7%), adherence to medications (74.1%), adequate time for counseling (55.7%), patient education tools (47.1%), knowledge and skills to recommend dietary changes (47.8%) and facilitate patient adherence (52.0%) were cited as significant barriers to CVD risk management. CONCLUSION: Despite the benefits demonstrated for managing cardiovascular risks, gaps remain in primary care practitioners' management of risks according to guideline recommendations. Innovative educational approaches that address barriers may facilitate the implementation of guideline-based recommendations in CVD risk management.

A standardized approach to assessing physician expectations and perceptions of continuing medical education.

INTRODUCTION: Rapidly expanding science and mandates for maintaining credentials place increasing demands on continuing medical education (CME) activities to provide information that is current and relevant to patient care. Quality may be seen as the perceived level of service measured against consumer expectations. Standard tools have not been developed to determine how well CME activities meet consumer expectations. METHODS: A widely used approach for evaluating perceptions of service quality in other fields, SERVQUAL, was adapted for CME by eliciting perspectives from physician consumers of CME and CME providers through nominal group techniques. These perspectives were used to develop a CMEQUAL evaluation survey instrument. Feasibility testing was conducted. Data were analyzed and items were tested for internal consistency. RESULTS: CME participants were individuals willing to complete items related to expectations before participation and perceptions after participation in a CME activity. Of the CME activity participants who provided CMEQUAL rating data for the study, 43% rated their overall perceptions of the CME activity below their overall expectations. CME activities most clearly met participant expectations in providing fair and balanced evidence-based content. Areas of lower priority for participants included opportunities for self-assessment, solving cases, and interactive learning. Two areas highly valued by participants but not adequately addressed by CME activities were (1) translating trial data to patient seen in practice and (2) addressing barriers to optimal patient management. DISCUSSION: Developing standards for evaluating physician perceptions of the quality of CME activities may assist CME providers in improving the effectiveness of CME activities in meeting physician learning needs.

Information-seeking behaviors and reflective practice.

INTRODUCTION: As they care for patients, physicians raise questions, but they pursue only a portion of them. Without the best information and evidence, care and patient safety may be compromised. Understanding when and why problems prompt physicians to look for information and integrate results into their knowledge base is critical and shapes one part of reflection about care. This study explores the role of the Internet in gathering medical information as one step in that reflective practice, the barriers to its use, and changes in utilization over time. METHODS: A questionnaire with 18 items adapted from previous studies was sent by facsimile to a randomly selected sample of U.S. physicians in all specialties and active in practice. RESULTS: Specific patient problems and latest research in a specific topic most often prompt physicians to search on the Internet. Younger physicians and female physicians were most likely to seek information on a specific patient problem. Only 9% of all respondents (n = 2,500) searched for information during a patient encounter. When unsure about diagnostic and management issues for a complex case, 41.3% chose to consult with a colleague or read from a text (22.8%). Searching most often occurred at home after work (38.2%) or during breaks in the day (35.7%). Most (68.7%) found the information they were looking for more than 51% of the time. Searching was facilitated by knowing preferred sites and access in the clinical setting. The greatest barriers to answering clinical questions included a lack of specific information and too much information to scan. DISCUSSION: Although physicians are increasingly successful and confident in their Internet searching to answer questions raised in patient care, few choose to seek medical information during a patient encounter. Internet information access may facilitate overall reflection on practice; physicians do not yet use this access in a just-in-time manner for immediately solving difficult patient problems but instead continue to rely on consultation with colleagues. Professional association Web sites and point-of-care databases are helpful. From physicians' use of the Internet, professionals in continuing medical education must learn which search engines and sites are trusted and preferred.

Using a modified nominal group technique to elicit director of nursing input for an osteoporosis intervention.

BACKGROUND: Barriers prevent osteoporosis care in nursing homes. Successful interventions designed to circumvent these barriers benefit from target recipient input during development. OBJECTIVE: To elicit suggestions for an osteoporosis quality improvement intervention designed for use by nursing home health care professionals. DESIGN: Modified nominal group technique. SETTING: Convenience sample of Alabama nursing home directors. PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen Alabama nursing home directors of nursing were recruited by mailing. Sixty percent of respondents participated (n = 9). MEASUREMENTS: In the first phase conducted via teleconference, an experienced moderator used a preformulated question and elicited 41 suggestions to improve osteoporosis care in nursing homes. Substantively similar suggestions were combined and idiosyncratic suggestions were discarded resulting in the retention of 20 suggestions. In the second phase conducted by mail, the same participants rated the 20 suggestions based on perceived practicality and helpfulness. Elements were grouped into tertiles based on the ranking of the mean ratings of the 2 attributes and then cross-tabulated. RESULTS: All director of nursing (n = 9) participants completed both phases. The most practical, most helpful suggestions were information on fall prevention program implementation, osteoporosis treatment protocols, and osteoporosis medication information. CONCLUSIONS: A modified nominal group technique provided useful information from nursing home directors of nursing for an osteoporosis intervention. The technique proved efficient and facile to perform.

Family physicians' information seeking behaviors: a survey comparison with other specialties.

BACKGROUND: Using technology to access clinical information has become a critical skill for family physicians. The aims of this study were to assess the way family physicians use the Internet to look for clinical information and how their patterns vary from those of specialists. Further, we sought a better understanding of how family physicians used just-in-time information in clinical practice. METHODS: A fax survey was provided with 17 items. The survey instrument, adapted from two previous studies, was sent to community-based physicians. The questions measured frequency of use and importance of the Internet, palm computers, Internet CME, and email for information seeking and CME. Barriers to use were explored. Demographic data was gathered concerning gender, years since medical school graduation, practice location, practice type, and practice specialty. RESULTS: Family physicians found the Internet to be useful and important as an information source. They were more likely to search for patient oriented material than were specialists who more often searched literature, journals and corresponded with colleagues. Hand held computers were used by almost half of family physicians. CONCLUSION: Family physicians consider the Internet important to the practice of medicine, and the majority use it regularly. Their searches differ from colleagues in other specialties with a focus on direct patient care questions. Almost half of family physicians use hand held computers, most often for drug reference.

Educational programs to enhance medical expertise in tropical diseases: the Gorgas Course experience 1996-2001.

In 1995, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) adopted defined criteria for accreditation of clinical training programs in tropical diseases. The first data on the development, enrollment, and outcomes of such a program are presented. A nine-week Diploma course, the Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine, given on-site in the tropics (Lima, Cusco, and Iquitos, Peru) has trained 157 individuals from 38 countries from 1996 through 2001. The average age of participants was 38.3 with 11.3 years since graduation. Graduates were 44.5% primary care physicians, 22.2% infectious diseases specialists, 12.7% emergency medicine specialists, 13.5% other specialists, and 7.1% nurses. Residents and fellows accounted for 32.8% and full-time academic faculty for 11.0%. Approximately half of all eligible Gorgas graduates have taken the ASTMH certification examination. In response to the enrollees' profiles and needs, adult learning theory has been extensively used in course design. Stable professional relationships between multiple educational partners are required for an endeavor of this scope.

Physicians' Internet information-seeking behaviors.

INTRODUCTION: Our understanding about the role of the Internet as a resource for physicians has improved in the past several years with reports of patterns for use and measures of impact on medical practice. The purpose of this study was to begin to shape a theory base for more fully describing physicians' information-seeking behaviors as they apply to Internet use and applications for continuing education providers to more effectively support learning. METHODS: A survey about Internet use and physician information seeking was administered by facsimile transmission to a random sample of 3,347 physicians. RESULTS: Almost all physicians have access to the Internet, and most believe it is important for patient care. The most frequent use is in accessing the latest research on specific topics, new information in a disease area, and information related to a specific patient problem. Critical to seeking clinical information is the credibility of the source, followed by relevance, unlimited access, speed, and ease of use. Electronic media are viewed as increasingly important sources for clinical information, with decreased use of journals and local continuing medical education (CME). Barriers to finding needed information include too much information, lack of specific information, and navigation or searching difficulties. DISCUSSION: The Internet has become an important force in how physicians deliver care. Understanding more about physician information-seeking needs, behaviors, and uses is critical to CME providers to support a self-directed curriculum for each physician. A shift to increased use of electronic CME options points to new demands for users and providers. Specific information about how physicians create a question and search for resources is an area that requires providers to develop new skills.

Designing tailored Web-based instruction to improve practicing physicians' preventive practices.

BACKGROUND: The World Wide Web has led to the rapid growth of medical information and continuing medical educational offerings. Ease of access and availability at any time are advantages of the World Wide Web. Existing physician-education sites have often been designed and developed without systematic application of evidence and cognitive-educational theories; little rigorous evaluation has been conducted to determine which design factors are most effective in facilitating improvements in physician performance and patient-health outcomes that might occur as a result of physician participation in Web-based education. Theory and evidence-based Web design principles include the use of: needs assessment, multimodal strategies, interactivity, clinical cases, tailoring, credible evidence-based content, audit and feedback, and patient-education materials. Ease of use and design to support the lowest common technology denominator are also important. OBJECTIVE: Using these principles, design and develop a Web site including multimodal strategies for improving chlamydial-screening rates among primary care physicians. METHODS: We used office-practice data in needs assessment and as an audit/feedback tool. In the intervention introduced in 4 phases over 11 months, we provided a series of interactive, tailored, case vignettes with feedback on peer answers. We included a quality-improvement toolbox including clinical practice guidelines and printable patient education materials. RESULTS: In the formative evaluation of the first 2 chlamydia modules, data regarding the recruitment, enrollment, participation, and reminders have been examined. Preliminary evaluation data from a randomized, controlled trial has tested the effectiveness of this intervention in improving chlamydia screening rates with a significant increase in intervention physicians' chlamydia knowledge, attitude, and skills compared to those of a control group. CONCLUSIONS: The application of theory in the development and evaluation of a Web-based continuing medical education intervention offers valuable insight into World Wide Web technology's influence on physician performance and the quality of medical care.