Characteristics of Physicians (N = 91)
| Group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Total Sample (N=91) | Immediate Test Ordering (n=33) | Watchful Waiting (n=29) | Watchful Waiting+QI (n=29) |
| QI=quality improvement; CME=continuing medical education. | ||||
| a Out of 4 possible topics: unexplained complaints, physician-patient communication, time management, and diagnostic testing. | ||||
| Age, mean (SD), years | 45 (7.3) | 47 (5.8) | 44 (7.2) | 45 (8.8) |
| Sex, No. (%) male | 67 (74) | 26 (79) | 17 (59) | 24 (83) |
| Experience as a primary care physician, mean (SD), years | 13 (8.7) | 14 (7.1) | 11 (8.4) | 14 (10.4) |
| Practice type, No. (%) solo | 34 (37) | 9 (27) | 15 (52) | 10 (34) |
| Practice region, No. (%) in western region | 44 (48) | 19 (58) | 11 (38) | 14 (48) |
| Practice location, No. (%) | ||||
| Urban | 45 (50) | 15 (47) | 15 (52) | 15 (52) |
| Semirural | 11 (12) | 4 (13) | 5 (17) | 2 (7) |
| Rural | 34 (38) | 13 (41) | 9 (31) | 12 (41) |
| Number of topics done during CME, mean (SD)a | 1.9 (1.6) | 1.9 (1.6) | 2.3 (1.1) | 1.5 (1.6) |
| Number of available laboratory tests in own practice, mean (SD) | 2.4 (1.1) | 2.4 (1.2) | 1.9 (1.0) | 2.6 (0.9) |