Online on-the-spot searching increases use of evidence during consultations in family practice.

Objective: The project aimed to search for online evidence in a structured way in consultation with the patient, to investigate whether the evidence discovered changed decisions.

Methods: We developed the "Online on-the-spot" method (OOS) as a part of a quality improvement program. Within a general practice consultation three physicians and two trainees searched in a fixed pattern and sequence the national guidelines of general practitioners developed by the Dutch College of General Practitioners, Clinical Evidence, Trip-database and the British Medical Journal.