Factors related to physicians' attitudes and beliefs toward drug information sources

Through the use of a mail questionnaire, factors related to physicians' attitudes and beliefs toward seven drug information sources were investigated. A sample of 108 physicians was obtained from a large health maintenance organization (HMO). Responses were obtained to questions on past use, ease of use, emotional response to use, quality of information on harmful effects and drug efficacy, colleagues' opinions, degree of usefulness and availability, and intention to use. The results show that physicians differ on each of the above factors, depending upon the source of drug information. Future studies should include an analysis of these factors when investigating physicians' use of drug information sources.