Federated Search System for Online Clinical Evidence
Author Information
Author(s): Enrico Coiera, Martin Walther, Ken Nguyen, Nigel H Lovell, William Hersh
Primary Institution: Centre for Health Informatics, University of New South Wales
Hypothesis
Can a federated search system improve access to online clinical evidence for clinicians?
Conclusion
The federated search system demonstrates a good balance between performance and reliability, with minimal overhead for system maintenance.
Supporting Evidence
- Clinicians performed 1662 searches during the trial.
- The average search duration was 4.9 seconds.
- The system overhead was only 0.12 seconds.
- 40% of clinicians reported having a broadband connection.
Takeaway
This study shows that a special search system can help doctors find medical information faster and easier, making it better for their work.
Methodology
A trial was conducted with 227 family physicians using a federated evidence retrieval system over a 4-week period to evaluate its performance.
Limitations
The study may not generalize to all clinical settings or populations, and the performance may vary based on internet connection quality.
Participant Demographics
227 family physicians from across Australia.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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