Speed and Accuracy of a Point of Care Web-Based Knowledge Resource for Clinicians: A Controlled Crossover Trial

BACKGROUND: Effective knowledge translation at the point of care requires that clinicians quickly find correct answers to clinical questions, and that they have appropriate confidence in their answers. Web-based knowledge resources can facilitate this process. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to evaluate a novel Web-based knowledge resource in comparison with other available Web-based resources, using outcomes of accuracy, time, and confidence. METHODS: We conducted a controlled, crossover trial involving 59 practicing clinicians. Each participant answered questions related to two clinical scenarios. For one scenario, participants used a locally developed Web-based resource, and for the second scenario, they used other self-selected Web-based resources. The local knowledge resource (“AskMayoExpert”) was designed to provide very concise evidence-based answers to commonly asked clinical questions. Outcomes included time to a correct response with at least 80% confidence (primary outcome), accuracy, time, and confidence. RESULTS: Answers were more often accurate when using the local resource than when using other Web-based resources, with odds ratio 6.2 (95% CI 2.6-14.5; P<.001) when averaged across scenarios. Time to find an answer was faster, and confidence in that answer was consistently higher, for the local resource (P<.001). Overconfidence was also less frequent with the local resource. In a time-to-event analysis, the chance of responding correctly with at least 80% confidence was 2.5 times greater when using the local resource than with other resources (95% CI 1.6-3.8; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians using a Web-based knowledge resource designed to provide quick, concise answers at the point of care found answers with greater accuracy and confidence than when using other self-selected Web-based resources. Further study to improve the design and implementation of knowledge resources may improve point of care learning.