How credible medical journals can impact physician treatment decisions

A 2018 survey from the Physicians Foundation found that primary care physicians typically see about 20 patients each day. That's 20 different opportunities to make a diagnosis and provide care options for patients to alleviate their symptoms and improve their quality of life.

When it comes to making these medical treatment decisions, though, there are a few different sources that physicians and caregivers can turn to, including medical journals and information from pharmaceutical company representatives. Let's take a closer look at these sources and how access to credible information, such as that contained within a respected medical journal, can affect medical processes and patient treatments.

What resources do doctors use to make care decisions?

Making an objective treatment decision isn't always the easiest process for physicians. They need to weigh factors including not only the available treatment options, but the cost of each to the patient, the potential side effects and other possible pros and cons.

In some cases, physicians will rely on their own experience in the healthcare industry, including the outcomes they've seen with other patient cases. As researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pointed out in a piece for ScienceDaily, this may result in patients who experience the same symptoms receiving different treatments based on physicians' intuition.

"There's something about a doctor's experience, and their years of training and practice, that allows them to know in a more comprehensive sense, beyond just the list of symptoms, whether you're doing well or you're not," noted Mohammad Ghassemi, MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science research affiliate. "They're tapping into something that the machine may not be seeing."

However, as a survey of more than 2,700 healthcare professionals from CMI/Compas found, the top source of medical information for physicians remains traditional medical journals. Overall, the CMI/Compas survey found that 70% of professionals use both print and online medical journals, and rank them to be equally important for their decision-making process.

Doctors need access to credible informational resources to make the right patient care decisions.

Medical journals and pharma rep data: Credibility is key

Our own separate Elsevier research found similar results. According to our whitepaper, "Where Credibility Goes, Doctors Follow," a survey of more than 5,000 physicians showed that 90% of these care providers consult peer-reviewed medical journals to make decisions about prescription treatments.

In fact, medical journals aren't just an asset for physicians to turn to for care information - many medical professionals keep up with these resources on a regular basis in order to remain current on approaches to healthcare, emerging strategies and new treatment options.

While medical journals remain a top source of information, a number of care providers also rely on the data and details they receive from their pharmaceutical representatives, particularly as it relates to developments in medical treatment options. Overall, 68% of physicians use information provided by pharmaceutical representitives when making decisions.

"It's nearly impossible for [physicians] to read everything so having reps to share information … may be a higher ranking source than other specialties," noted Dr. Susan Dorfman, CMI/Compas chief commercial officer.

Overall though, with both medical journal information and resources from pharmaceutical representatives, credibility is key. Physicians and care providers must be able to trust the information and resources they leverage for care decisions, making the ability to identify credible medical journals and other data sources critical.

A credible journal can make a big difference, and not only support healthcare providers in their decisions pertaining to treatment options, but can also help ensure they remain current with the latest medical research. Elsevier researchers found that physicians even find value in the advertisements within credible medical journals, with 75% noting that they learned something new about an advertised product and another 56% stating that they followed up about an advertised product on the company's website.

Credibility in medical journals is critical, and can enable healthcare providers to make the most informed decisions for patient treatment.

To find out more, check out our whitepaper, "Where Credibility Goes, Doctors Follow," today.