New Clinical Search Tool Developed for UPMC eRecord

search.HSLS                                 A new clinical search tool developed by HSLS, search.HSLS.Clinical-e, is now embedded in UPMC’s eRecord. Clinical-e uses HSLS’ familiar search box format and clustering technology from Vivisimo, Inc. to provide quick access to selected full-text information resources. The goal is to provide focused information so clinicians can quickly locate the most relevant information. To paraphrase a common UPMC saying, Clinical-e aims to provide “the right information to the right clinician at the right time in the right format.”

To search Clinical-e, users can enter one or two keywords, and highlight one of five search tabs (Diagnosis/DDX, Diseases, Drugs, Evidence-Based Medicine/EBM, or Patient Ed) to focus results. Each tab searches a different set of full-text “answer tools” from HSLS’ extensive collection of electronic resources.

For example, the DDX tab searches Access Medicine’s Diagnosaurus, Access Surgery’s DDX, Interpretation of Diagnostic Tests, Differential Diagnosis from First Consult, and UpToDate. The EBM tab searches ACP Pier, BMJ Clinical Evidence, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Current Practice Guidelines in Primary Care, the National Guideline Clearinghouse, US Preventive Services Task Force, and finds guidelines in PubMed. The Patient Ed tab searches several public and proprietary Web sites, but always presents UPMC patient education materials in a “boost box” at the top of the results page. Search results are clustered into meaningful categories and are directly accessible from the eRecord. Users can easily progress from one tab-based search to another using the same keywords, or they can do a secondary “search within clusters” to further refine their results. Clinical-e also offers links to the main HSLS home page, or assistance via a “contact us” button.

The HSLS development team partnered with physician leaders on the eRecord project to build Clinical-e. In the months ahead the team will monitor usage and gather feedback to refine the mix of e-resources searched by each tab, and to identify future upgrades.

~ Barbara Epstein

Posted in the 2008 Issue