Are there differences in online resources for answering primary care questions?

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Health Information Resources

Background:

• Evaluating the completeness of online medical information is crucial for evidence-based practice.
• Healthcare professionals rely on accessible and comprehensive resources for clinical decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the content coverage of a subscription-based resource (UpToDate) against a publicly available resource (National Guidelines Clearinghouse).
• To assess the extent to which these resources address clinical questions.

Main Methods:

• Two distinct online knowledge sources were systematically searched.
• The Clinical Questions Collection was utilized to evaluate content coverage.
• UpToDate (subscription) and National Guidelines Clearinghouse (publicly available) were the resources assessed.

Main Results:

• UpToDate demonstrated a 10.4% greater content coverage compared to the National Guidelines Clearinghouse.
• Neither resource offered complete coverage of all evaluated clinical questions.
• Current practice guidelines, as represented by these resources, address a maximum of two-thirds of clinical questions.

Conclusions:

• While UpToDate offers superior content coverage, gaps remain in addressing the full spectrum of clinical inquiries.
• Further development is needed for both subscription and public resources to achieve comprehensive clinical question coverage.