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- Gary M. Onady, MD, PhD*
- Marc A. Raslich, MD*
- *Medicine-Pediatrics Program, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
Computers and Internet Support for an Evidence-based Search
Questions are common in clinical medicine. A report studying the needs of residents for medical information found that two new questions arose for every three patients seen. (1) The answers are available. A study by Covell and associates reported that 83% of questions generated in the office setting had answers available in the medical literature. (2) Unfortunately, these studies also showed that clinicians pursued solutions to only 30% to 35% of the problems, with most coming from print resources immediately available in the office. Textbooks are the traditional resource used currently, but the information contained in them often is obsolete. A recent review confirmed that the most frequent source of information is texts. (3) The next most common resource is talking with a colleague; only one report of 19 included studies revealed electronic databases as the primary resource.
The potential for finding answers in the evidence-based paradigm never has been greater in this era of personal computers and Internet resources. A recent report showed that residents and faculty at a children’s hospital frequently pursued answers to clinical problems. (4) After a 10-minute intervention and some guidance in finding efficient Internet resources, the participating physicians were more likely to use electronic resources to answer their questions, which was particularly beneficial because the search took only 8 minutes for the intervention group versus 19 minutes for the control group.
Practicing physicians may not realize the potential for enhancing an evidence-based practice using literature resources. (5) Frequently, we encounter relevant clinical questions for which answers are available by accessing effective resources. Physicians need to learn how to access this information.
Although the primary goal of this article is to provide information for getting started on a search, we also hope to convey the ease of conducting an Internet-based search. (6) These techniques not …
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