Development of a Drug Information Webography and Push Notification Service
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Development of a Drug Information Webography and Push Notification Service
Kelly M. Smith, PharmD Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice and Science, Clinical Specialist. Medication UsePolicy. University of Kentucky. Lexington
Key Words Drug information; Webography; Pathfinder; Internet; Push notification Correspondence Address Kelly M. Smith. PharmD, University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, 800 Rose Street, C1I3. Lexington. KY40536-0293 (e-mail: ksmit 1 @email.uky.edu).
Presented at the Second American College of Clinical Pharmacy-European Society of Clinical Pharmacy International Congress On Clinical Pharmacy. Paris. France. April 2004.
Information stored on the Internet is not organized, monitored, or structured. Imparting the skills necessary to retrieve information from the Internet to trainees and novice health care professionals can therefore be challenging. A drug information webography and push notification process of featured Web site content were created by a drug information center to identify Web sites of interest to pharmacy practitioners, maintain a current listing of Web sites with medication-related information, and develop pharmacy students' abilities to formally assess Web site quality. Students
INTRODUCTION The Internet has revolutionized access to information of all kinds, including health information. Nearly 15% of the world's approximately 6 billion people use the Internet (1), and 79% of users have sought health information online (2). Rapid advances in health care as well as the rate of new drug approvals in the United States contribute to the continued reliance on the Internet as a source of current health information. Real-time access to volumes of data that can be updated almost instantaneously benefits both consumers and health care professionals alike. Consequently, there is a growing dependence on information retrieved from the Internet in health care decision making. However, because information on the Internet is neither regulated nor systematically organized. World Wide Web users may struggle to find the most appropriate information in an efficient manner.
SEEKING DRUG INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
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I NFOR MAT ION
A lack of organizational approach to posting information on the Internet precludes one's ability to conduct an exhaustive search of the World Wide Web. Lack of hierarchical organization of
evaluate Web site content for potential applications to pharmacy practice, as well as navigability and quality, utilizing a structured approach. Narrative commentaries are then prepared, andfeatures of each site are formally demonstrated. A single Web site is then featured on the center's Web site each week, with subsequent integration into a drug information webography. An announcement of each week's posting is made via push notification service. The webography is utilized by students and practitioners alike to locate drug information efficiently on the Internet.
information posting leaves an Internet user guessing if a search he or she has conducted is in
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