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Family Practice Vol. 17, No. 5, 428-429
© Oxford University Press 2000

Discussion paper

A preliminary study of the decision-making process within general practice

Rebecca Mears and Kieran Sweeneya

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH and
a Research Development Support Unit, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.

Abstract

Objective. The aim of the present study was to explore the factors that contribute to the process of decision making within general practice, over and above evidence-based information.

Methods. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews on a purposeful sample of GPs, based in the South West of England. Each interview was tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Results. Five broad categories emerged from the data: practitioner; patient; practitioner–patient relationship; verbal and non-verbal communication; evidence-based medicine; and external factors.

Conclusion. The nature of general practice is such that the process of making clinical decisions is complex. In an era when GPs are being overwhelmed by evidence-based information, consideration needs to be given to the implications that the nature of the decision-making process has upon the way ‘evidence’ is constructed and promoted within general practice.

Keywords. Clinical decision making, decision making, evidence-based medicine, general practice, GP.


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