Evaluation of ARRA Comparative Effectiveness Research Dissemination Contract Efforts

Form Approved
OMB No. 0935-0191
Exp. Date 3/31/2015

Survey of Clinician Use of Information Resources for Making Patient Treatment Decisions

Conducted for: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Rockville, Maryland

Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle) is conducting this survey on behalf of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). AHRQ is a Federal agency under the US Department of Health and Human Services charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans.

The purpose of the survey is to learn how clinicians use health care information resources to make treatment decisions for their patients. The results of the survey will be used to inform AHRQ’s efforts to develop and disseminate unbiased, evidence-based information to patients, doctors, and others involved in health care decisionmaking.

Based on a proprietary list of all U.S. physicians compiled by the American Medical Association, we randomly selected approximately 2500 physicians to participate in this survey. You are being asked to participate in this survey because you were among the physicians selected.

Your participation in the survey is entirely voluntary. You can discontinue participation at any time. You can decline to answer any of the questions on the survey.

Completing the survey will take approximately 20 minutes. If you choose to participate, please fill out the questionnaire as completely and accurately as possible and return to Battelle in the postage-paid envelope provided in the survey packet. You will receive $50 in appreciation for your time and effort for this survey.

This survey is designed to benefit society by gaining new knowledge that will assist AHRQ’s efforts to develop and disseminate information for health care decisionmaking. You may not benefit personally from being in this research study.

Battelle will take several steps to maintain the confidentiality of survey participants. First, each survey participant will be assigned a unique identification number and names or any other personally identifying information will not be linked to survey responses. Second, we will not report the names and responses of individual participants to AHRQ or in any report or publication. Additionally, data provided to AHRQ at the completion of the study will not contain the names or any other personally identifying information.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact Dr. Judith Berkowitz (Battelle) at 1-866-846-9021. If you have any questions about your rights as a study participant, please call Dr. Margaret
Pennybacker, chair of Battelle’s Institutional Review Board, toll free at 1-877-810-9530, ext. 500.

By completing and returning the survey questionnaire, you are providing your consent to participate in this study.

This part of the survey asks questions that will let us describe the survey participants. Please write in or check (√) the best answer.

1. What is your age?
   ______years

2. What is your sex?
   __  Male
   __  Female

3. Are you Hispanic or Latino/Latina?

   __  Yes
   __  No

4. What is your race? (Please check √ all that apply.)
   __  American Indian or Alaska Native
   __  Asian

   __  Black or African American
   __  Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
   __  White

5. State of residence: (Please check √ only one.)

6. Are you a: (Please check √ only one.)
   __  Physician
   __  Physician Assistant
   __  Nurse Practitioner
   __  Nurse
   __  Pharmacist
   __  Other (specify) ______________________________________

7. Since completing your medical training for the role you indicated in Question 6 (including residency and fellowship), how long have you been practicing medicine?

   ______ years

8. If you are a physician, what is your primary clinical specialty? (Please check √ only one.)
   __  Family Medicine
   __  General Internal Medicine
   __  Obstetrics/Gynecology
   __  Other – Please specify: ________________________________________________________________________
   __  Not Applicable (“I am not a physician”)

9. If you are a physician, what is your clinical sub-specialty, if any?

   ____________________________________________________________________________________________
   __  No clinical sub-specialty

10. Is your primary practice site located in one of the following? (Please check √ only one.)
   __  Private practice office
   __  Ambulatory care clinic of hospital/medical center
   __  Urgent care clinic
   __  Community health center
   __  Public health clinic
   __  Hospital emergency department
   __  Institutional setting/clinic (e.g., correctional, nursing home)
   __  Clinic that is part of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
   __  Academic or teaching hospital
   __  Other type of clinic (Specify):

11. Please provide your best estimate for the total number of clinical staff in your department or unit at your primary practice site who provide direct care to patients. Include physicians, nurses, physician assistants, full-time and part-time, etc.
   Number of clinical staff providing direct care: ______ ______ (Record number 0001-9999)
   __  Don’t know/not sure

12. On average, how many hours per week do you spend on direct patient care?
   ________ HRS / WK

If you spend less than 8 hours per week on direct patient care, please STOP and return the survey in the postage-paid envelope.

13. In general, with how many patients, if any, do you share educational materials to help them make informed decisions about their treatment options? (Please check √ only one.)
   __  I share materials with every patient
   __  I share materials with most patients
   __  I share materials with some patients
   __  I rarely share materials with patients
   __  I have never shared any fact sheets, summaries, or materials with my patients
   __  Does not apply, I do not help patients make treatment decisions → Go to Question #16

14. When I do not discuss treatment options with my patients it is because… (Please check √ all that apply.)
   __  I don’t have enough time
   __  I don’t want to confuse my patients
   __  My organization or practice doesn’t encourage my talking to patients about treatment options
   __  My patients don’t seem interested in hearing about treatment options
   __  My patients look uncomfortable when I discuss treatment options with them
   __  My patients have difficulty understanding their treatment options
   __  My patients are quickly overwhelmed by the amount of information
   __  My patients are already aware of their treatment options
   __  My patients expect me to know what is best for them
   __  When there are not treatment options to discuss
   __  Not applicable, I discuss options with every patient
   __  None of the above

15. When I do discuss treatment options with my patients… (Please check √ all that apply.)
   __  It is because my patients ask me for options
   __  It is because my patients ask me about specific options
   __  I tell them about the relative effectiveness of each option
   __  I describe the potential cost of each option with them
   __  I describe the risks and benefits of each option with them
   __  I tell them about my experience with each option
   __  None of the above

16. For many medical conditions, there are a variety of treatment options. Different treatments often have different levels of benefit and different levels of risk for side effects. Treatments can also differ on cost.

Have you ever heard about types of research that are designed to help you make treatment decisions with your patients by comparing the benefits and harms of different treatment options?

   __  Yes → Go to Question #16a

   __  No

   __  Don’t know/not sure

16a. If you answered “Yes”, what is this type of research called?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

17. How familiar are you with the following types of research that help you make treatment decisions based on comparisons of benefits and harms of different options?

The next questions are about your awareness and understanding of comparative effectiveness research (CER), a type of patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR).

18. Comparative effectiveness research compares different health care interventions for common conditions by rigorously evaluating existing scientific literature and generates new findings through scientific studies of different treatment and diagnostic interventions.

Where, if ever, have you read or heard about comparative effectiveness research? (Please check √ all that apply.)

__  Nowhere – never heard of comparative effectiveness research → Go to Question #22

__  Article in a medical/science journal

__  Advertisement in journal or trade magazines

__  Web site

__  Conference or professional meeting

__  Colleagues

__  Employer

__  Advertisement on TV, radio, or in a store

__  Educational visit at your place of practice by a trained professional

__  Article in a newspaper or magazine or story on TV news

__  Through a continuing education course

__  Other (specify):

__  I’ve heard of it before, but don’t know where

19. In the table below, indicate whether or not each of the following statements reflects the principles and methods of comparative effectiveness research.

20. In the table below, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statements about comparative effectiveness research in clinical decisionmaking.

21. Below, we present a pair of adjectives that could be used to describe opinions about comparative effectiveness research. For each pair of words, please check √ the box along the scale for each word pairing that describes your opinion of comparative effectiveness research. Selecting a box closer to the word on the left means that your opinion is closer to the word on the left. Selecting a box closer to the right means your opinion is closer to the word on the right.

   For clinical decisionmaking, comparative effectiveness research is:

22. How interested are you in learning more about comparative effectiveness research? (Please check √ only one.)
   __  Not at all interested
   __  Not very interested
   __  Somewhat interested
   __  Interested
   __  Very interested

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