Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2011 | Research article
Requesting physicians' experiences regarding infectious disease consultations
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases | Issue 1/2011
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Background
Solicited consultations constitute a substantial workload for infectious disease (ID) specialists in the hospital setting. The objectives of this survey were to describe requesting physicians' experiences regarding ID consultations.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a university-affiliated hospital in France in 2009. All physicians were eligible (n = 530) and received a self-administered questionnaire. The main outcomes were reasons for request and opinion. Secondary outcomes were frequency of request and declared adherence to recommendations.
Results
The participation rate was 44.7% (237/530). Among the responders, 187 (79%) had solicited the ID consultation service within the previous year. Ninety-three percent of the responders (173/187) were satisfied with the ID consultation. The main reasons for requesting consultations were the need for therapeutic advice (93%), quality of care improvement (73%) and the rapidity of access (61%). ID consultations were requested several times a month by 52% (72/138) of senior physicians and by 73% (36/49) of residents (p = 0.01). Self-reported adherence to diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations was 83% and 79%, respectively.
Conclusion
The respondent requesting physicians expressed great satisfaction regarding ID consultations that they requested principally to improve patient care and to assist in medical decision making.