Physician Knowledge Based Systems & Information

Essenital Evidence Plus/POEM Introduction
(“Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters”)

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Link to Essenital Evidence Plus/POEMs >> (MGHS Only)

InfoRetriever, by presenting the best evidence and not merely an expert opinion, provides clinicians the information needed to make the best clinical decisions. By focusing on Patient Oriented Evidence that Matters (POEMs), it avoids the wrong decisions too often associated with expert opinion in recent years. For example - do xazosin for hypertension, vitamin E for heart disease, beta-carotene to prevent cancer, arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee, hormone replacement therapy to prevent heart disease, patching corneal abrasions, using encainide for post-infarction arrhythmias, and sleeping infants on their sides or stomach - were all recommended by experts yet all worsened patient outcomes.

Selected POEMs are published in each edition of American Family Physician, the British Medical Journal,Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, Clinician Reviews, European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Journal of Family Practice, Le Medicin du Quebec, New Zealand Family Physician, The Pharmaceutical Journal, and Women’s Health in Primary Care, and have been written about in many professional journals and publications.

InfoRetriever instantly presents the best known evidence by searching 7 filtered-evidence content and tools databases, formatted for use in practice, plus the widely-used and authoritative quick-reference, 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Evidence and evidence-based tools include the complete database of over 2300 POEMs, 1803 abstracts from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 201 clinical decision rules and calculators, 2303 diagnostic calculators for the history & physical, laboratory tests, imaging, and other diagnostic tests, all USPSTF and all evidence-based NGC guidelines.

InfoRetriever stands alone as a new type of clinical-information product best described in a 2002 JMLA article, “When less is more: a practical approach to searching for evidence-based answers” (http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=12113514)

Its effectiveness has been documented in a recent randomized controlled trial from the University of Hong Kong, viewable at http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7423/1090?ck=nck. This study, published in the British Medical Journal, proved that using InfoRetriever resulted in greater confidence in clinical decision-making, greater use of the best available evidence in making decisions, and greater confidence in applying evidence in practice. It is the only software proven to have these effects on clinical practice in a randomized, controlled trial.

InfoRetriever is delivered via PALM and PocketPC-based PDAs, the Internet, and desktop/laptop/tablet PCs.

Downloads of the PC (Desktop/Laptop/Tablet) or PDA (PocketPC and/or PALM OS) versions: The user clicks “DOWNLOADS/UPDATES” from this screen. For trial installation, it’s a 2-step process:

a. DOWNLOAD the application files from our website
b. INSTALL the application files to the specific hardware – it will run for 30 days

Technical Requirements for PDA Versions:

PALM OS - Operating System: PALM OS 4.0 or higher, Minimum Storage: 2 MB internal memory, 64 MB or more external memory. InfoRetriever runs from external memory.

PocketPC - Operating System: PocketPC 2002 or higher, Minimum Storage: 64 MB internal memory or 64 MB or more external memory card. InfoRetriever runs from either internal or external memory.

BY-THE-NUMBERS - InfoRetriever 2004, Volume 2 (February 2004)
1 Integrated Search Engine With:

InfoPOEMs: 2332 (the full collection)
Cochrane Database abstracts: 1804 (the full collection)
Treatment guidelines summaries: 713 (includes all USPSTF,and all evidence-based NGC)
Clinical Decision Rules: 201
Diagnostic test calculators (unique combinations of symptom à disease à test): 1116
H&PE calculators (unique combinations of symptom à disease à test): 1087
The complete 5-Minute Clinical Consult, 2004 Edition
Various ancillary items (ICD9 lookup, E/M Coding Wizard, etc)

Daily Info POEM Admin