Practical considerations for exploiting the World Wide Web to create infobuttons.
BACKGROUND
We are studying ways to provide automated, context-specific links (called "infobuttons") between clinical information systems (CIS) and other information resources available on the World Wide Web. As part of this work, we observed the information needs that arose when clinicians used a CIS and we classified those needs into generic questions. We then sought general methods for accessing information resources to answer the questions.


METHODS
For each generic question, we identified a satisfactory resource and then developed a method for retrieving from it the information relevant to the question. We then studied these methods to characterize them into general approaches.


RESULTS
We identified six general approaches and describe them in detail. These approaches range in complexity from simple, hard-coded links to intelligent agents and calculators.


CONCLUSIONS
Web-based information resources can be exploited using a relatively small number of methods, although the specific methods require custom solutions. Standard methods for accessing Web-based resources would simplify the task of linking to CISs.
Cimino
James J
JJ
Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, 622 West 168th Street, VC-5, New York, NY 10032, USA. jjc7@columbia.edu
Li
Jianhua
J
Allen
Mureen
M
Currie
Leanne M
LM
Graham
Mark
M
Janetzki
Viktoria
V
Lee
Nam-Ju
NJ
Bakken
Suzanne
S
Patel
Vimla L
VL
D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D006751:Hospital Information Systems; D007255:Information Services; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D020407:Internet; D020380:Needs Assessment; D014584:User-Computer Interface