Impact on Pathology Practice of the
Manual of Use and Interpretation of Pathology Tests
Survey Questionnaire for General Practitioners
The questionnaire seeks feedback on the Manual from your perspective with most questions
being multi-choice with scope for entering any other comments. We thank you for completing
this questionnaire.
Part 1
Your Characteristics
This first part records characteristics about you and will enable analysis of the survey results
across different demographic groups and practice types.
Q1
What is your current age? (Years)
Q2
What is your gender? (Tick one)
Male 
Female


No 
Q3
Are you Vocationally Registered? (Tick one)
Q4
In what practice setting(s) do you typically provide medical services and what proportion
of time is spent in each? (Tick all appropriate settings)
% of time

2 - 5 GPs in Practice

6 or more GPs in Practice

Public Hospital

Private Hospital

Nursing Home

Community Health Centre

Locum

Other (Please Specify________________) 
Sole GP Practice
Q5
Yes
1
_____
2
_______
3
_______
4
_______
5
_______
6
_______
7
_______
8
_______
9
_____
What is the predominant location in which you practise? (Tick one)
Capital City/Metropolitan

Rural area with population greater than 25,000

Rural area with population between 5,000 and 25,000 
Town with population less than 5,000

Q6
What state do you predominantly practise in? (Tick)
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia








1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

No 
Q7
Is your practice computerised?
Yes
Q8
How do you receive pathology results at your practice?(more than one choice may be
appropriate) Also indicate the form that you predominantly use to store a permanent
record of the results (indicate only one of these in the second column).
Hard copy via mail
Hard copy via courier
Facsimile
Computer download/email
Download into patient management system
Q9
Used
Permanent
Record










1
2
1
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
At which Medical School did you obtain your Basic Medical Degree?___________________
Q10 In what year did you undertake your Internship?
Q11 What is the typical total hours you spend per week providing medical
services across all practice settings?
Q12 Were you in practice in 1997? (Tick one)
Yes

No 
If no go to Question 14

Public Hospital 
Private Hospital 
Q13 What was your predominant practice setting in 1997? (Tick one) General Practice
Part 2
Awareness and Dissemination of Manual
This part seeks to understand your awareness of the Manual and from where you obtained it.
Only reasonable estimates are required for the questions that ask for numbers or percentages.
Q14 Were you aware of the Manual prior to receiving this questionnaire? (Tick one)

No 
Yes
If no go to Question 20
Q15 Did you receive the Manual at the time of national distribution
by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in 1997?
(Note: The RCPA was responsible for distributing the manual
in 1997. If you received the Manual in the post around
then, it was most likely sent by the College
Yes 
If yes go to Question 18
No
Don’t Recall
Q16 Approximately what year did you get the Manual?
Q17 Where did you get the Manual? (Tick one)
Colleague or medical practice

Lecturer/Education institution

Professional College

Self purchased

Don’t Recall

Other (Please Specify ______________)
1
2
3
4
4
5
2

No 
Q18 Do you still have a Manual easily accessible in your practice? (Tick one)
Yes
If no go to Question 20
Q19 In what form is the Manual? (Tick one)

Computer based

Other (Please Specify ______________)
Book
1
2
Part 3
3
Use and Impact of the Manual
We are now seeking to understand how the Manual has influenced your pathology ordering.
Please complete this section even if you were not previously aware of the Manual.






Q20 How many patients do you see in a typical week? (Tick one) Under 50
50 – 75
(Note: a reasonable estimate only)
75 – 100
100 – 125
125 – 150
Over 150
1
2
3
4
5
6
Q21 About how many pathology request forms do you complete each week?
Q22 Do you, or have you, ever consulted the Manual? (Tick one)
Yes 
If yes go to Question 24
No 
Q23 Why don’t you use the Manual? (Tick all appropriate responses)
Not current

Poor format

Wrong medium

Have better sources

Not easily accessible

Was not aware of Manual

Other (Please Specify _________________)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Go to Question 32
Q24 When was the last time you consulted the Manual? (Tick one)
This week
Within the last month
1-6 months ago
6-12 months ago
More than 12 months ago
Q25 Over the last twelve months, how often have you consulted the Manual? (Tick one)
Daily





1
2
3
4
5

Weekly

Monthly

Quarterly (about once in each 3 month period)
Less than quarterly

1
1
2
3
4
3
Q26 For every thousand patients for whom you request/consider requesting
pathology, for how many of these would you consult the manual?
Q27 On those occasions when you consult the manual, for what % of these would be with the
patient present? (Indicate % of your response to Q26.Thus, for example, if you indicated that
the manual was consulted for 100 in every 1000 patients in Q26 and the patient was present on
about 10 occasions, the response to this question is 10%, ie 10 of 100)
_________%
Q28 For the pathology requests where you consulted the Manual, what was the impact of
consulting the Manual? (Your response to this question should be based on the total requests
identified in Q26)
Number of Pathology Requests Modified
Q29 For those pathology requests where you consult the Manual, how would you describe the
influence of the Manual? (Tick all appropriate responses)
Guidance on test profile and frequency
1






Provided better understanding of tests
Resulted in different tests
Helped in interpretation of results
Used as a general reference
Did not provide information required
Other (Please Specify_____________)
Q30 How has using the Manual changed the volume of your requests? (Tick one)
Decreased



Increased
No Change
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
Q31 When you used the Manual, did it result in …? (Circle the number under the appropriate
frequency)
Very Often
Often
Occasionally
Never
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
Improved accuracy of diagnosis
Improved use of time and resources
Reduced need for referral to specialist
More efficient communication with patients
Did not provide information needed
Other (Please Specify _______________)
Q32 What other sources of information do you use to inform pathology ordering? (Circle the
number under the appropriate frequency)
Very Often
Colleagues
Books/Journals
Fact Sheets/Guidelines/Software
Internet
Commercial/Industry(eg pharmaceutical company)
Pathology Providers
Other (Please Specify ___________________)
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Often
Occasionally
Never
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
Part 4
Future Directions
This part seeks your views on how the Manual should be developed in the future to assist you.
Q33 Which of the following do you have access to in your consulting rooms? (Tick all
appropriate responses)
Computer with CD-ROM



Local Area Network
Internet
1
2
3

No 
Q34 Do you believe that the Manual should continue to be produced? (Tick one)
Yes
Q35 What do you think is the most appropriate form for the Manual to take? (Tick one)
Audio

Electronic (CD-ROM, other software)

Hard Copy

Integrated with Patient Management System

Internet

Video

Other (Please Specify ___________________) 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Q36 What information sources do you need or would like to assist with your pathology
ordering? (More than one response may apply, tick all appropriate responses)

Access to peers

Existing Manual

None

Other (Please Specify ___________________) 
Access to pathology provider
1
2
3
4
5
Q37 Would it be useful to have pathology ordering information and results interpretation
incorporated into the pathology reports and/or your practice management software?
(ie reference to relevant components of the manual)
Pathology
Results
Yes
No
Don’t Know



Practice
Management
Software



1
2
3
1
2
3
Q38 If you answered yes to Question 37, would you like …? (Circle the number under the
appropriate frequency)
Guidance with tests based on signs & symptoms
Guidance based on medication patient is receiving
Guidance on ordering supplementary tests
Guidance on further tests that may not be useful
Very Useful
Useful
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
May Use Won’t Use
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
Please provide any other comments you may have on the Manual.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
5
Part 5
Future Workshops & Respondent Details
You may remove this page from the questionnaire and place it in the separate (smaller)
envelope. Include the smaller envelope and the questionnaire in the reply paid envelope.
This section of the questionnaire will not be linked in any way with your responses.
Are you willing to participate in a workshop to further explore the future role for the Manual, or
other resources, oriented to informing pathology ordering? (Tick one)
Yes 
No 
If yes, what is your preferred timeframe? (Tick one)
Before 10.00am

Lunch Time

Afternoon

5.00pm

After 7.00pm

Other (Please Specify) ___________________ 
1
2
3
4
5
6
Your Telephone Contact Number
____________________________________
Name of Respondent
____________________________________
Address
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
Please provide an estimate of the time taken to complete this
questionnaire
hrs
mins
Thank you for your assistance. Please return your questionnaire by Wednesday 9th May 2001 in the
enclosed Reply Paid envelope. Completed questionnaires may also be faxed on (08) 8150 5599, or mailed
to :
Project Director
Pathology Manual Evaluation
Healthcare Management Advisors
Reply Paid 10086
ADELAIDE BC SA 5000
6