Case study to find the best way to include many clinical information resources into an easy-to-use interface for the Clinical Research Information System

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 — Poster Session III
10:00 a.m. – Noon	Natcher Conference Center	OD	TECH-7

Authors

• B Otterson (NIHL)
• B Brown (NIHL)
• B Hope (NIHL)
• M Raju (DCRI)
• P Sengstack (DCRI)
• T Wheeler (NIHL)
• J McKeeby (DCRI)

Abstract

Objective: Hospitals provide a multitude of clinical information resources that can overwhelm users who are looking for quick answers at the bedside. The NIH had 40 resources (e.g., Formulary, UpToDate) with different subject areas and capabilities. Some of them were searchable while others were not. A few required extra security logins. The NIH Library and Department of Clinical Research Informatics wanted to combine the resources from the library and hospital into an easy-to-use interface that allowed users to quickly find the needed information or the correct resource for patient care via CRIS. Methods: The library utilized a previously developed federated search engine for this project. The user could either enter terms into the search box or go directly to a resource on the interface. The search engine retrieved the hit counts from searchable resources. We showed the working model of the interface to focus groups. Their feedback helped with designing several prototypes. The library and DCRI worked together to create the final prototype that became the actual interface. We named it Clinical Search. Results: We added Clinical Search to CRIS. Conclusion: We accomplished our objective to combine a large number of information resources into a user-friendly interface.

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