PubMed · 1346043
The source did not provide an abstract. Follow the original record for more information.
Explore connections, maps & timelines
K Dawson, J Cox, O Smith. 1992-01-18. Computer-based knowledge systems.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-6736(92)90256-3
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
KEEP EXPLORING
Remote data exchange is extremely useful to a number of medical applications. It requires an infrastructure including systems, network and software tools. With such an infrastructure, existing local applications can be extended to serve national needs. There are many approaches to providing remote data exchange. Selection of an approach for an application requires balancing of various factors, including the need for rapid interactive access to data and ad hoc queries, the adequacy of access to predefined data sets, the need for an integrated view of the data, the ability to provide adequate security protection, the amount of data required, and the time frame in which data is required. The applications described here demonstrate new ways that the VA is reaping benefits from its infrastructure and its compatible integrated hospital information systems located at its facilities. The needs that have been met are also needs of private hospitals. However, in many cases the infrastructure to allow data exchange is not present. The VA's experiences may serve to establish the benefits that can be obtained by all hospitals.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
OBJECTIVE: To review the methods of electronic retrieval of biomedical journal articles; to demonstrate CD-ROM and online searching techniques; and to compare major biomedical databases. DESIGN: A CD-ROM MEDLINE search was made by a medical practitioner, with the assistance of an experienced librarian. An online MEDLINE/Excerpta Medica search was made by the same medical practitioner after completion of a two-day course in search techniques. The search example covered the period 1983 to 1992, and the topic was "whether steroid use for asthma/airways disease leads to osteoporosis". OUTCOMES: Search duration, article yield and search cost were assessed. RESULTS: The CD-ROM MEDLINE literature search took 60 minutes to find 31 articles (43% of the possible articles). This compared with an online search to the Bibliographic Retrieval Services database in Chicago, which produced the same articles when MEDLINE was searched (but took only 16 minutes) and which also found 47 articles (with an overlap of only seven) when Excerpta Medica was searched. We estimated that the combined MEDLINE and Excerpta Medica search detected 93% of all known relevant articles, based upon an assumed gold standard. CONCLUSIONS: Online searching is a fast and powerful alternative to CD-ROM searching. Formal training is necessary for quick and cheap reference finding. Other benefits such as direct transfer from online searching to your own computer bibliography database make online searching of biomedical databases essential to consider.