Requirements Analysis of Information Services for Patients on a General Practitioner's Website

2007 ◽  
Vol 46 (06) ◽  
pp. 629-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Abu-Hanna ◽  
A. H. Prins
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Information Services ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
User Groups ◽  
On Line ◽  
Public Health Institutions ◽  
Requirements Document ◽  
Level Of Importance

Summary Objective : To elicit and analyze information needs of patients and primary care physicians (GPs) regarding the information services (static and functional) that a GP's practice website should provide. Methods : To find candidate information services, we conducted a literature search and examined primary care physicians' websites, especially Dutch websites. Semi-structured depth interviews with the stakeholders, Dutch patients and GPs, were done to arrive at a final checklist. We then conducted a survey to elicit the level of importance associated with each service on the checklist. The data underwent statistical analysis and relevant requirements were formulated. The requirements were then validated by interviews. General website quality and usability aspects were elicited from the literature. Results : The research resulted in a checklist of 38 selected information services including their priority ratings for patients and GPs; a discrepancy list between GP and patient priorities; and a requirements document containing information services (14 static and 6 functional), and general quality and usability aspects (8 and 5). Conclusion : The following items occurred in the top 10 of both user groups: general practice information, information of local public health institutions, self-help information, repeat prescription, links to health websites. At the bottom on both priority lists were: links to journals, tests and forums. Dutch GPs are much more selective in terms of which information services to provide on-line. Discrepancy between the two groups concerns on-line services that seem to require a change to the GP's workflow, or those services that are not recognized for reimbursing the GP. Although the Dutch patients' requirements seem to generalize to other patients, the conflict list might depend on the primary care system.

Communication Between Primary Care Physicians and Radiation Oncologists Regarding Patients With Cancer Treated With Palliative Radiotherapy

2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 2902-2907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Barnes ◽  
John Hanson ◽  
Catherine M. Neumann ◽  
Cheryl L. Nekolaichuk ◽  
Eduardo Bruera
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Palliative Radiotherapy ◽  
Patient Support ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Radiation Oncologists ◽  
Actual Content

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the satisfaction and information needs of primary care physicians (PCPs) regarding communication with radiation oncologists (ROs), with respect to patients who receive palliative radiotherapy (RT). A selected objective was to evaluate the agreement between PCPs’ expectations and the content of the RO letter sent after completion of RT. PCPs’ knowledge of the role of palliative RT and their awareness of available patient support services were also determined. METHODS: The PCPs of patients discharged from the Cross Cancer Institute after receiving palliative RT were surveyed using a mail-out questionnaire. Questions regarding communication, RT knowledge, and awareness of support services were asked. The corresponding RO letter was reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 148 PCPs were identified and were mailed questionnaires, with 114 (77%) responding. Overall, 80% (87 of 109) of PCPs found the RO letter to be useful in patient management. However, there was poor (< 53%) agreement between PCPs’ expectations and the actual content of the RO letter. Knowledge of the indications and effectiveness of palliative RT was limited, with PCPs obtaining a median score of 4 of a possible 8. Only 27% (31 of 114) of PCPs were aware of all five of the patient support services listed. CONCLUSION: Results show that although the majority of PCPs found the RO letter useful, they believed that the letter lacked important information while containing unnecessary details. Communication between PCPs and ROs needs improvement, especially considering that PCPs seem to have limited knowledge of palliative RT.

scholarly journals Clinician-selected Electronic Information Resources do not Guarantee Accuracy in Answering Primary Care Physicians' Information Needs

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Martha Ingrid Preddie
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Electronic Information ◽  
Electronic Information Resources ◽  
Clinical Questions

A review of: McKibbon, K. Ann, and Douglas B. Fridsma. “Effectiveness of Clinician-selected Electronic Information Resources for Answering Primary Care Physicians’ Information Needs.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 13.6 (2006): 653-9. Objective – To determine if electronic information resources selected by primary care physicians improve their ability to answer simulated clinical questions. Design – An observational study utilizing hour-long interviews and think-aloud protocols. Setting – The offices and clinics of primary care physicians in Canada and the United States. Subjects – 25 primary care physicians of whom 4 were women, 17 were from Canada, 22 were family physicians, and 24 were board certified. Methods – Participants provided responses to 23 multiple-choice questions. Each physician then chose two questions and looked for the answers utilizing information resources of their own choice. The search processes, chosen resources and search times were noted. These were analyzed along with data on the accuracy of the answers and certainties related to the answer to each clinical question prior to the search. Main results – Twenty-three physicians sought answers to 46 simulated clinical questions. Utilizing only electronic information resources, physicians spent a mean of 13.0 (SD 5.5) minutes searching for answers to the questions, an average of 7.3 (SD 4.0) minutes for the first question and 5.8 (SD 2.2) minutes to answer the second question. On average, 1.8 resources were utilized per question. Resources that summarized information, such as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate and Clinical Evidence, were favored 39.2% of the time, MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed) 35.7%, and Internet resources including Google 22.6%. Almost 50% of the search and retrieval strategies were keyword-based, while MeSH, subheadings and limiting were used less frequently. On average, before searching physicians answered 10 of 23 (43.5%) questions accurately. For questions that were searched using clinician-selected electronic resources, 18 (39.1%) of the 46 answers were accurate before searching, while 19 (42.1%) were accurate after searching. The difference of one correct answer was due to the answers from 5 (10.9%) questions changing from correct to incorrect, while the answers to 6 questions (13.0%) changed from incorrect to correct. The ability to provide correct answers differed among the various resources. Google and Cochrane provided the correct answers about 50% of the time while PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, UpToDate, Ovid Evidence Based Medicine Reviews and InfoPOEMs were more likely to be associated with incorrect answers. Physicians also seemed unable to determine when they needed to search for information in order to make an accurate decision. Conclusion – Clinician-selected electronic information resources did not guarantee accuracy in the answers provided to simulated clinical questions. At times the use of these resources caused physicians to change self-determined correct answers to incorrect ones. The authors state that this was possibly due to factors such as poor choice of resources, ineffective search strategies, time constraints and automation bias. Library and information practitioners have an important role to play in identifying and advocating for appropriate information resources to be integrated into the electronic medical record systems provided by health care institutions to ensure evidence based health care delivery.

scholarly journals Diagnoses, Drugs, and Treatment Are the Main Information Needs of Primary Care Physicians and Nurses, and the Internet Is the Information Source Most Commonly Used to Meet These Needs

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Perryman
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Information Seeking Behaviour

A Review of: Clarke, M. A., Belden, J. L., Koopman, R. J., Steege, L. M., Moore, J. L., Canfield, S. M., & Kim, M. S. (2013). Information needs and information-seeking behaviour analysis of primary care physicians and nurses: A literature review. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 30(3), 178-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hir.12036 Abstract Objective – To improve information support services to health practitioners making clinical decisions by reviewing the literature on the information needs and information seeking behaviours of primary care physicians and nurses. Within this larger objective, specific questions were 1) information sources used; 2) differences between the two groups; and 3) barriers to searching for both groups. Design – Literature review. Setting – SCOPUS, CINAHL, OVID Medline, and PubMed databases. Subjects – Results from structured searches in four bibliographic databases on the information needs of primary care physicians and nurses. Methods – Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) and keyword search strategies tailored to each of four databases were employed to retrieve items pertinent to research objectives. Concepts represented in either controlled or natural language vocabularies included “information seeking behaviour, primary health care, primary care physicians and nurses” (p. 180). An initial yield of 1169 items was filtered by language (English only), pertinence to study objectives, publication dates (2000-2012), and study participant age (>18). After filtering, 47 articles were examined and summarized, and recommendations for further research were made. Main Results – Few topical differences in information needed were identified between primary care physicians and nurses. Across studies retrieved, members of both groups sought information on drugs, diagnoses, and therapy. The Internet (including bibliographic databases and web-based searching) was the source of information most frequently mentioned, followed by textbooks, journals, colleagues, drug compendiums, professional websites, and medical libraries. There is insufficient evidence to support conclusions about the differences between groups. In most research, information needs and behaviours for both groups have been discussed simultaneously, with no real distinction made, suggesting that there may not be significant differences even though a few studies have found that nurses’ emphasis is on policy and procedures. Barriers to access include time, searching skills, and geographic location; for the last, improvements have been made but rural practitioners continue to be adversely affected by limited access to people and resources. Conclusion – Both primary care physicians and nurses seek information on diagnosis and treatment. The Internet is of increasing utility for both groups, but all resources have advantages and disadvantages in identifying evidence based information for use in practice. Further research is required to support access and use of evidence based resources, and to explore how focused, evidence based information can be integrated into electronic health record systems.

scholarly journals Information Needs and Information-Seeking Behavior of Primary Care Physicians

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Gonzalez-Gonzalez ◽  
M. Dawes ◽  
J. Sanchez-Mateos ◽  
R. Riesgo-Fuertes ◽  
E. Escortell-Mayor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Seeking Behavior

scholarly journals Library and Information Services in Marginalised and Under-Resourced Communities in South Africa: Ecosystem Services and Their Implications

Libri ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Mojapelo ◽  
Luyanda Dube
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Information Services ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Equitable Access ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Democratic Elections

AbstractDaunting backlogs in terms of the library and information resource-provision in communities remain a stumbling block for all people, particularly youths, to have equitable access to information as a commodity to satisfy their dynamic and diverse ever-evolving information needs. In South Africa, the system of ruling called apartheid, also known as separate development, was officially nullified by the first democratic elections in 1994. All people including those in under-served rural communities need equitable access to information in varied formats for personal growth and development however, in the library and information services (LIS) sector, existing divisions, barriers or boundaries impede diverse users with wide-ranging information needs to fulfil them. User groups of libraries are currently divided along the still-prevailing historical divisions, an example being how university libraries are traditionally intended to cater for the information needs of their students, academics and administrative staff. Despite fulfilling their teaching needs, university libraries are also expected to cater for the research needs of students and academics to fulfil research projects, presenting university libraries as existing solely for teaching and research purposes. The key findings of the study are that most LIS are still distinctly divided with regard to their user-groups and ecosystems, with collaborations and partnerships very minimal in the LIS sector in South Africa. The study concludes that these distinct divisions deny multiple users the opportunity to equitably access information resources to meet their information needs daily. The study recommends that, based on the literature review, a holistic interconnected complex network of libraries working and existing as an ecosystem can be a viable solution to provision of LIS in resource-poor rural South African communities where there is inadequate resource-provision. The study also recommends borderless and seamless access to all libraries to enable multiple and diverse users to satisfy their dynamic and ever-changing information needs.

Influenza vaccine-related information needs of US primary care physicians

2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 421-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah J. Clark ◽  
Anne E. Cowan ◽  
Pascale M. Wortley
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Influenza Vaccine ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
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