Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The main aims of the study were to measure the extent of any inequalities in treatment between age groups within the NHS in relation to cardiovascular disease, which has multi-risk profiles, involving the use of expensive medical technologies. The objectives were to measure and analyse i) actual decisions and ii) tacit and stated (theoretical) clinical decision policies, in the face of risk of arterial disease by age of the patient.

Main Topics:

The data comprise information about the hypothetical patients seen by physicians via a computer-presented task, the amount and order in which information about these patients was searched and the decisions and comments that were made on these patients. All patients presented with chest discomfort and had 'suspected angina' written in their notes. Also contained in the dataset are each physician's indications of which pieces of patient information had influenced their decision making and the data from graph plots indicating how these pieces of information had been influential.

The sample consists of those cardiologists, care of the elderly physicians and general practitioners, who were willing to participate after extensive notices, direct contact, contact via colleagues and so on.

Face-to-face interview

Computer-presented task. This presented hypothetical cases to the physician. The computer task, graphs and importance indications were administered in face-to-face meetings.