GPs are increasingly seeking answers to clinical questions from their peers on social media networks, and five clinical specialities account for more than half the questions.
An analysis of more than 200 clinical questions posted on the ‘GPs Down Under’ (GPDU) professional Facebook group found that more than 80% were specific questions about the diagnosis and treatment of a condition and 58% were related to five specialist areas (see table below).
The GPDU forum is a restricted forum that has more than 5800 GP members.
The most frequently posted questions were about whether a particular treatment was suitable or effective for a condition, (eg “what treatment options for a second therapy for H. pylori infection after a failure with Nexium Hp?“) and questions about how the practitioner should manage a specific condition (eg “how should I manage ilioinguinal nerve entrapment?”).
Other common questions related the possible cause or interpretation of findings and how to act on them (eg “asymptomatic middle aged lady presented with acute-onset of midline painless lump in the palate. What is the cause of this? Could be mucinous cyst?”).
Questions posted on the GPs Down Under forum attracted an average of 20 replies, of which about half provided answers to the question. However, although about half provided some explanation or justification for the answer, only 6% referred to an evidence-based resource.
The researchers who conducted the analysis said the findings showed there was still a significant unmet educational need in primary care for clinical knowledge.
[The] questions raised on social media networks may be helpful in guiding the development of GP future continuous learning programs (e.g. tailored according to identified information needs) and research activities (e.g. by identifying research-practice evidence gaps),” they wrote.