Physicians' Adherence to Clinical Guidelines on the Chronic Heart Failure Diagnosis and Treatment: Changes Over 2 Years of the Document's Existence

Abstract

To study how physicians' commitment to the basic provisions of clinical guidelines (CGs) for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) has changed over the two years of the document existence. An anonymous survey was performed for 263 physicians (204 cardiologists, 46 internists and 13 other specialists) who were trained in advanced training programs in 2022. The questionnaire included questions regarding self-assessment of the respondents' professional knowledge, their attitude to the role of CGs in everyday practice and ideas about methods for treatment of CHF. Respondents gave 60.6 % correct answers to questions related to the treatment of CHF. More than 70% correct answers were given by 42.7% of cardiologists and 17.4% of internists. Compared to 2020, the proportion of cardiologists who gave more than 70 % correct answers increased significantly (p<0.05). CGs were considered mandatory by 26.2% and important or sometimes useful by 71.5% of respondents. Cardiologists considered CGs mandatory more frequently than internists (29.9 and 15.2 %, respectively; p=0.04). The mean number of correct answers was greater in the subgroup of respondents who considered CGs mandatory (p<0.001). More than 70% correct answers were given by only 43.8% of cardiologists, who considered themselves fully informed and able to advise colleagues on complex issues of diagnosis and treatment of CHF, and 40.6% of physicians who considered their knowledge acceptable for managing patients with CHF. The majority of physician consider CGs an important methodological document but only a little more than 25 % are aware that CGs are mandatory. Cardiologists are better informed than internists about the principal provisions of National Clinical Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of CHF, but the average level of physician knowledge remains low.