Online medication information for patients: The Pharmacy Infobutton

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On-line medication information for patients The
Pharmacy Infobutton

• P.Doupi, J.J.Cimino
• Erasmus University Rotterdam , Columbia
  University, New York

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THE FACTS

• Constant growth trend of Internet users
  interested in health matters
• Medications among hot-topics
• Web as marketing and sales channel

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THE PROBLEMS

• Verification of information quality
• Navigation to appropriate sources
• Particularly important for lay users

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PROPOSED SOLUTIONNFOBUTTONS

• Component of Web-based patient CIS (PatCIS)
• Access to clinical data
• Opportunity to enter data
• Links to online health resources relevant for
• patient-specific topics

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ADAPTING A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY

• 1. Identifying users needs
• WHAT IS THE QUESTION?
• 2. Identifying appropriate info sources
• WHERE CAN THE ANSWER BE FOUND?
• 3. Composing a retrieval strategy
• HOW IS THE ANSWER RETRIEVED?

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WHAT? USERS NEEDS

• Challenge in the context of the Web
• Demands on traditional drug info sources
• Questions submitted to Web sites
• Identified information gaps
• Guidelines for patient education

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WHERE?INFORMATION SOURCES

• 14 sites offering Rx medication information
  identified evaluated
• URLs and indexing info on site vocabulary stored
  in dB

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HOW? RETRIEVAL STRATEGY

• Codes of medications as stored in the MED
• Database of URLs and indexing info
• Generic question templates

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PRESENT STATUS

• Infobuttons next to Rx medications of patients
• Links to Medline Micromedex operational
• Links to Web sources on pilot-basis
• Patient recruitment under way

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EXPECTED BENEFITS

• Patients participation in their health care
• Unique insight in users needs, demands
• and expectations from Web resources
• Opportunity to explore the impact of such
• interventions on peoples health

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FUTURE FOCUS

• Automated search retrieval
• Increased awareness of e-publishers in terms
• of format, syntax and terminology
• Tailored, personalized information
• through linking with EPR data

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CONCLUSIONS

• nfobuttons anticipate users needs
• anticipation mapping to quality sites
• in advance
• links to clinical data easier retrievals
• URL http//www.cpmc.columbia.edu/

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

• We wish to thank the following organizations
• State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), Greece
• (supporting P. Doupi in her post-graduate
  studies)
• Vereniging Trustfonds Erasmus Universiteit
• Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• (supporting P.Doupis participation in MEDNET99)