PubMed in Your Pocket...Medical Research at Your Fingertips

Denise O’SheaTechnology CoordinatorNN/LM Middle Atlantic Region

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Personal Digital Assistant Resources from the National Library of Medicine

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has developed several information resources specifically designed for use on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).

This workshop is an introduction to two of these applications.

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Workshop Objectives

Describe NLM’s PubMed applications for the PDA.

Locate and install the relevant software. Search PubMed/Medline via a specialized

interface that is formatted for the PDA. Use filters and limits for advanced searching. View search results on the PDA. Browse journal abstracts on the PDA. Search ClinicalTrials.gov on the PDA. Provide feedback on these products.

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PubMed Applications for the PDA

PubMed on Tap 1.6 PubMed on Tap (PMoT) is an research

application for PDAs that brings MEDLINE® citations directly to the PDA through a wireless connection to the Internet.

PubMed for Handhelds A service that allows one to access the PubMed

interface via a PDA equipped with an Internet browser.

Both products are free.

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PMOT: Special Features

PMoT features include: PubMed search limits History of previous searches Save selected citations to the Memo Pad A clustered results option. Link-out to the full-text article (if available)

from the Citation screen

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PubMed for Handhelds: Special Features

To use this service your PDA should have either a wireless or physical connection to the Internet and a Web browser.

Users can also search offline by utilizing a product such as AvantGo (http://www.avantgo.com/). AvantGo allows Internet content to be captured and loaded to a PDA that has no Internet connection.

Browse journal abstracts and search for clinical trials.

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Hardware Requirements

PMoT System Requirements: Palm PDA or Smart-phone with an Internet connection –

via CDMA, GSM (the cell phone network) or through a WiFi LAN (802.11b).

Pocket PC PDA or Smart-phone with an Internet connection.

PubMed for Handhelds System Requirements There are no files to install thus it is platform independent.

It works with Palm OS, PocketPC and Linux PDAs. Compatible with any Web browser – AvantGo, Blazer,

EudoraWeb, WebPro, Internet Explorer, etc. Has been tested with 802.11b, Bluetooth, infrared,

wireless modem and desktop synch.

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Locating and Installing the Software

To download PubMed on Tap and to become an evaluator, go to: http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/pmot/pmot.php You can also beam PMoT directly from

one PDA to another. To access PubMed for Handhelds

point your browser to: http://pubmedhh.nlm.nih.gov/nlm

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Caveats

The PMoT proxy server runs on an R&D http server. You may experience an occasional irregularity.

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Starting PMoT

To open PubMed on Tap, tap the icon labeled “PM on Tap”

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PMoT: The Search Tab part 1

The functions of PMoT are grouped into tabs.

The right & left arrows in the upper right corner are used to scroll through the tabs (or use the drop down menu).

The default tab is the Search tab.

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PMoT: The Search Tab part 2

Enter search terms on the line after “For:”.

You can select a return of 50, 40 or 20 articles at a time (default is 50).

Tap the globe/magnifying glass to execute the search.

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PMoT: The Results Tab

Display Mode Summary vs. Brief

Viewing the Citation Saving a Citation Related Articles LinkOut

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PMoT: Display Modes

Summary mode Brief mode

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PMoT: View the Citation

To view the citation for an article, tap anywhere on the Summary or Brief text.

Tap* the back arrow to return to the results tab. Note the color change in the article number.

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PMoT: Saving a Citation to the Memo Pad

Click the Computer Disk icon at the bottom of the Citation screen to save a citation to the memo pad.

You can then beam the citation to others and/or hotsync it to your desktop computer.

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PMoT: Related Articles

Tap the Page icon with the characters RA at the bottom of the Citation screen to retrieve Related Articles for the given bibliographic Record.

Note: it is not possible to “go back” to the original results from here.

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PMoT: LinkOut

Tap the Link icon at the bottom of the Citation screen to link-out to the full-text article (if available) for the given bibliographic record. PMoT will launch your PDA’s browser.

If the icon is green, it is a free full-text link.

Note: it is not possible to “go back” to the original results from here.

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PMoT: The Clustered Results Tab part 1

Search results can be clustered by Journal Subject or by EBM (Evidence Based Medicine) clusters. Select the preferred results option from the menu on the Search tab & execute the search. The results appear in a tree hierarchy on the Cluster Results tab.

Tap on the ‘+’ sign to expand a node and to reveal truncated titles. Keep tapping to retrieve the citation.

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PMoT: The Clustered Results Tab part 2

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PMoT: The History Tab

Tap the History Tab to see the previous 20 search strings.

Tap on a search string to select it, then tap the ‘Copy to Search Tab’ button. Tap the globe to execute a new search.

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PMoT: The Profile Tab

Limits can be applied to a search query by using functions on the Profile Tab. Tap the Profile tab to see the available options.

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PMoT: The Profile Tab – Options and Limits part 1

Options: “Only items with abstracts” “English + Human”

Limits Clinical Queries Publication Date Journal Subsets Publication Types

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PMoT: The Profile Tab – Options and Limits part 2

Example, to choose a Subset search strategy, tap the down arrow next to ‘Subsets’, then tap the up & down arrows in the box to scroll to the desired query, select it by tapping it.

To clear all profile settings tap the ‘Reset’ button.

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PMoT: Using Your Profile

Return to the Search tab, tap the ‘Use Profile’ checkbox and execute the search.

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PMoT: Saving & Opening Profiles

To save a particular Profile, tap the ‘Save Profile’ button while the desired profile is displayed. You can save up to 4 profiles.

Later, a profile can be restored by opening the ‘Open Profile’ button.

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PubMed Anywhere

Connecting to the interface: http://certif.nlm.nih.gov/

devt/nlm/ There are 5 options:

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

Read new Journal Abstracts

PICO ClinicalTrials.gov Feedback

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PubMed Anywhere: Searching MEDLINE/PubMed

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askMedline

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Browsing Journal Abstracts on the PDA

This feature allows users to view current journal abstracts from core clinical journals.

If the journal whose abstracts you'd like to view is not among those listed in the pull-down menu, you can search for any part of the journal's title (or the NLM title abbreviation) into the search box on the lower half of the screen.

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Searching ClinicalTrials.gov on the PDA

Users may search ClinicalTrials.gov by entering keywords for disease/condition, location, experimental treatment, etc. to identify clinical trials that may be occurring.

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Searching PubMed/MEDLINE via PICO

PICO (patient/problem, intervention, compared to,outcome)

A method used for structuring clinical questions & literature searches. PICO may be useful to those interested in evidence-based medicine.

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Keeping Up-to-Date with PMoT

Join our mailing list and receive email notification when we release a new version of the PMoT client: http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/pmot/eval.

php

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Providing Feedback to NLM

To give feedback on PMoT visit http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/pmot/ex/exercisesFeedback.php or the PMoT User Forum. You may e-mail questions to Susan Hauser at

pubmedontap@lhc.nlm.nih.gov To give feedback on PubMed Anywhere visit

http://certif.nlm.nih.gov/devt/nlm/, and use the site’s Feedback link to send comments to the developers. You may also send questions, comments &

suggestions to pubmedhh@nlm.nih.gov

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Additional Resources

Denise O’Sheadoshea@nyam.org,(212) 822-7358 or 1-800-338-7657 (free for calls

from DE, NJ, NY or PA)

National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic RegionNew York Academy of Medicine1216 Fifth AvenueNew York, New York 10029

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Updates As of June 2004 PMoT is available for the PocketPC. As of August 2004, the PubMed on Tap server no longer

supports requests from clients to email a Citation. “Because our users are not required to log in for this service, there is potential for abuse, and we need to close that hole. We apologize to those of you who use this feature”*. A workaround is to save the citation to the Memo Pad and either email that from your PDA or hotsync it to your desktop computer and email it from there.

As of December 2004, the My Journals feature of PMoT was discontinued.

*The PubMed on Tap developers