Does Educating Physicians About Syncope Guidelines Change Practice?

An intervention to educate physicians about guidelines for syncope evaluation did not reduce use of neuroimaging studies, particularly in the emergency department.

In a retrospective study, researchers compared clinical practice at a U. S. military hospital before and after implementation of a quality improvement intervention for evaluation of syncope. The intervention involved use of written material, lectures, and an algorithm to educate internal medicine faculty, senior residents, and interns about evidence-based syncope guidelines (Circulation 2006; 113:316). All physicians were salaried and had no economic incentive to order more tests, and no physician could be sued individually for malpractice or for neglecting to order a test.

A total of 721 consecutive patients were evaluated for syncope during the 2.5 years before the education intervention, and 371 were evaluated during the year after; the t…

Reviewing Author

J. Stephen Bohan, MD, MS, FACP, FACEP

Disclosures

RoyaltiesKlint Law Firm

Editorial boardsCritical Decisions in Emergency Medicine

J. Stephen Bohan, MD, MS, FACP, FACEP

Disclosures

RoyaltiesKlint Law Firm

Editorial boardsCritical Decisions in Emergency Medicine