title: [Fax Survey to Elucidate the Information Needs of General Practitioners in Lower Saxony Regarding the Topic of Medical Implants].
abstract: Background:Medial implants help a multitude of patients to gain more health, mobility and thus, quality of life. In collaboration with a still growing expectation of life especially, i.e., within Western industrial countries, this has led to an increasing use of implants over the last years. However, although biomechanical characteristics of modern implant materials have improved considerably, one big challenge still exists - the implant-associated infection. Early diagnostic and therapeutic interventions could clearly mitigate this issue, but are general practitioners sufficiently informed regarding this topic?Material and Methods:In March 2013 and in close cooperation with the Lower Saxony association of general practitioners, we initiated a survey to elucidate the information demands of general practitioners regarding the topic of medical implants. A total of 939 members of the association were contacted via fax and 101 (10.8 %) responded. Based on the obtained data, we then evaluated which topics are most interesting for this group of medical professionals.Results:The survey clearly indicates that general practitioners request more general implant-related data, e.g., type and specification of an implant as well as its location within the individual patient and contact addresses of the implanting hospital, but also want more specific information regarding diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the case of implant-associated complications.Conclusion:The present article reports in detail on the conducted fax survey and shows some initial strategies as to how the identified challenges might be faced.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Herz-, Thorax-, Transplantations- und Gefäßchirurgie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Deutschland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schaper
authors.affiliation: Landesverband Niedersachsen e. V., Deutscher Hausärzteverband, Hannover, Deutschland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berndt
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Herz-, Thorax-, Transplantations- und Gefäßchirurgie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Deutschland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schrimpf
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Unfallchirurgie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Deutschland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilhelmi
authors.affiliation: Niedersächsisches Zentrum für Biomedizintechnik, Implantatforschung und Entwicklung, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Deutschland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elff
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Herz-, Thorax-, Transplantations- und Gefäßchirurgie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Deutschland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haverich
authors.affiliation: Kompetenzzentrum kardiovaskuläre Implantate, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Deutschland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilhelmi
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D061345:Early Medical Intervention; D058006:General Practice / Q000193:education*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016636:Telefacsimile