Description of 635 Questions Asked by 112 Spanish Primary Care Physicians During 3,511 Consultations, Using the Taxonomy of Ely et al13
| Code | Primary | Secondary | Description | No. (%) | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECG = elecrocardiogram; CI = confidence interval. | |||||
| 1.1.1.1 | Diagnosis | Cause/interpretation of clinical finding | What is the cause of symptom x? | 130 (20.5) | 17.3–23.7 |
| 1.1.2.1 | Diagnosis | Cause/interpretation of clinical finding | What is the cause of physical finding x? | 95 (15.0) | 12.1–17.8 |
| 1.1.3.1 | Diagnosis | Cause/interpretation of clinical finding | What is the cause of test finding x? | 19 (3.0) | 1.6–4.4 |
| 1.1.4.1 | Diagnosis | Cause/interpretation of clinical finding | Could this patient have condition y given findings x1, x2, …, xn? | 39 (6.1) | 4.2–8.1 |
| 1.2.1.1 | Diagnosis | Criteria/manifestations | What are the manifestations (findings) of condition y? | 6 (0.9) | 0.1–1.8 |
| 1.3.1.1 | Diagnosis | Test (laboratory, ECG, imaging, biopsy, skin test, element of physical examination, etc) | Is test x indicated in situation y? | 20 (3.1) | 1.7–4.6 |
| 1.3.2.1 | Diagnosis | Test (laboratory, ECG, imaging, biopsy, skin test, element of physical examination, etc) | How good is test x in situation y? | 3 (0.5) | 0.09–1.4 |
| 1.3.3.1 | Diagnosis | Test (laboratory, ECG, imaging, biopsy, skin test, element of physical examination, etc) | When (timing, not indications) should I do test x? | 11 (1.7) | 0.6–2.8 |
| 1.3.4.1 | Diagnosis | Test (laboratory, ECG, imaging, biopsy, skin test, element of physical examination, etc) | What is the preparation for test x? | 2 (0.3) | 0.04–1.1 |
| 1.3.5.1 | Diagnosis | Test (laboratory, ECG, imaging, biopsy, skin test, element of physical examination, etc) | How do you do test x? | 7 (1.1) | 0.2–1.9 |
| 1.4.1.1 | Diagnosis | Name finding | — | — | — |
| 1.4.2.1 | Diagnosis | Name finding | — | — | — |
| 1.4.3.1 | Diagnosis | Name finding | — | — | — |
| 1.5.1.1 | Diagnosis | Orientation | — | — | — |
| 1.5.2.1 | Diagnosis | Orientation | — | — | — |
| 1.6.1.1 | Diagnosis | Inconsistencies | Why were this patient’s findings (or course) inconsistent with usual expectations? | 1 (0.2) | 0.004–0.9 |
| 1.7.1.1 | Diagnosis | Cost | — | — | — |
| 1.8.1.1 | Diagnosis | Not elsewhere classified | Diagnosis, generic type, varies | 3 (0.5) | 0.09–1.4 |
| 2.1.1.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | How do you prescribe/administer drug x (in situation y)? | 3 (0.5) | 0.09–1.4 |
| 2.1.1.2 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | What is the dose of drug x? | 18 (2.8) | 1.5–4.2 |
| 2.1.1.3 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | When (timing, not indication) or how should I start/stop drug x? | 13 (2.0) | 0.9–3.2 |
| 2.1.2.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | Is drug x (or drug class x) indicated in situation y or for condition y? | 47 (7.4) | 5.5–9.7 |
| 2.1.2.2 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | — | — | — |
| 2.1.3.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | Could finding y be caused by drug x? | 9 (1.4) | 0.4–2.4 |
| 2.1.3.2 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | How can drug x be administered without causing adverse effect y or minimizing adverse effect y or in spite of adverse effect y? | 2 (0.3) | 0.04–1.1 |
| 2.1.3.3 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | Is drug x safe to use in situation y? | 11 (1.7) | 0.6–2.8 |
| 2.1.4.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | Is it OK to use drug x with drug y? | 11 (1.7) | 0.6–2.8 |
| 2.1.5.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | What is the name of that drug? | 12 (1.9) | 0.8–3.0 |
| 2.1.6.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | What is drug x? | 7 (1.1) | 0.2–1.9 |
| 2.1.7.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | What are the physical characteristics (dosage forms, tablet/liquid characteristics, container characteristics) of drug x? | 9 (1.4) | 0.4–2.4 |
| 2.1.8.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | — | — | — |
| 2.1.9.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | — | — | — |
| 2.1.10.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | — | — | — |
| 2.1.11.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | — | — | — |
| 2.1.12.1 | Treatment | Drug prescribing | — | — | — |
| 2.2.1.1 | Treatment | Not limited to but may include drug prescribing | How should I treat finding/condition y (given situation z)? | 15 (2.4) | 1.1–3.6 |
| 2.2.1.2 | Treatment | Not limited to but may include drug prescribing | Should this kind of patient get prophylactic treatment (intervention) x to prevent condition y? | 9 (0.2) | 0.004–0.9 |
| 2.2.2.1 | Treatment | Not limited to but may include drug prescribing | When (or how) should I start/stop treatment x? | 3 (0.5) | 0.09–1.4 |
| 2.2.3.1 | Treatment | Not limited to but may include drug prescribing | How do you do treatment/procedure x? | 3 (0.5) | 0.09–1.4 |
| 2.2.4.1 | Treatment | Not limited to but may include drug prescribing | — | — | — |
| 2.3.1.1 | Treatment | Not elsewhere classified | Why is drug x not effective in condition y? | 1 (0.2) | 0.004–0.9 |
| 3.1.1.1 | Management (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic) | Condition/finding | How should I manage condition/finding/ situation y (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic management)? | 29 (4.6) | 2.9–6.3 |
| 3.2.1.1 | Management (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic) | Other clinicians | — | — | — |
| 3.2.2.1 | Management (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic) | Other clinicians | When should you refer in situation y? | 5 (0.8) | 0.3–1.8 |
| 3.2.3.1 | Management (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic) | Other clinicians | — | — | — |
| 3.3.1.1 | Management (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic) | Physician-patient communication | How should I advise the patient/family in situation y? | 1 (0.2) | 0.004–0.9 |
| 3.3.2.1 | Management (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic) | Physician-patient communication | What is the best way to discuss or approach discussion of difficult issue x? | 5 (0.8) | 0.3–1.8 |
| 3.3.3.1 | Management (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic) | Physician-patient communication | How can I get the patient/family to comply with my recommendations or agree with my assessment? | 4 (0.6) | 0.2–1.6 |
| 3.4.1.1 | Management (not specifying diagnostic or therapeutic) | Not elsewhere classified | Management, generic type, varies | 3 (0.5) | 0.09–1.4 |
| 4.1.1.1 | Epidemiology | Prevalence/incidence | What is the incidence/prevalence of condition y (in situation z)? | 1 (0.2) | 0.004–0.9 |
| 4.2.1.1 | Epidemiology | Etiology | Is x a risk factor for condition y? – or – Is x associated with condition y? | 4 (0.6) | 0.2–1.6 |
| 4.2.1.2 | Epidemiology | Etiology | Is condition y hereditary? | 1 (0.2) | 0.004–0.9 |
| 4.3.1.1 | Epidemiology | Course/prognosis | What is the usual course (or natural history) of condition y? | 1 (0.2) | 0.004–0.9 |
| 4.4.1.1 | Epidemiology | Not elsewhere classified | — | — | — |
| 5.1.1.1 | Nonclinical | Education | I need to learn more about topic x. | 18 (2.8) | 1.5–4.2 |
| 5.1.1.2 | Nonclinical | Education | Where can I find or how can I get information about topic x? | 3 (0.5) | 0.09–1.4 |
| 5.1.1.3 | Nonclinical | Education | — | — | — |
| 5.1.2.1 | Nonclinical | Education | — | — | — |
| 5.2.1.1 | Nonclinical | Administration | What are the administrative rules/considerations in situation y? | 35 (5.5) | 3.3–6.8 |
| 5.3.1.1 | Nonclinical | Ethics | What are the ethical considerations in situation y? | 13 (2.0) | 0.9–3.2 |
| 5.4.1.1 | Nonclinical | Legal | What are the legal considerations in situation y? | 5 (0.8) | 0.3–1.8 |
| 5.5.1.1 | Nonclinical | Frustration | Generic type, varies. Not a true question, but rather an expression of frustration or an unanswerable dilemma. | 3 (0.5) | 0.09–1.4 |
| 5.6.1.1 | Nonclinical | Not elsewhere classified | In a broad sense, the question is nonclinical, but it does not fit any other nonclinical category. | 6 (0.9) | 0.1–1.8 |
| 6.1.1.1 | Unclassified | — | — | — | — |