Point-of-Care Databases: DynaMed

DynaMed can be accessed from the Medicine and Health Sciences Collections & User Services web portal.

DynaMed is available in a PDA application for Palm OS, Android and Microsoft Mobile devices.  In order to install a mobile application you will need a DynaMed serial number, which you can obtain from the Medical librarian and you will need to register with DynaMed.

Individual evidence reports within DynaMed include a level of evidence grading system.

• Grade A recommendation
    (consistent high-quality evidence)
• Grade B recommendation
    (inconsistent or limited evidence)
• Grade C recommendation
    (lacking direct evidence)

These are based on the Strength Of Recommendation Taxonomy and are described in detail in Am Fam Physician 2004 Feb 1;69(3):548-56.

Searching in DynaMed:

DynaMed can be searched one of three ways:

• Using the "Find" search box.  Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT are supported
• Browsing by category
• Browsing alphabetical headings

NOTE: terms entered in the "Find' search box will locate the terms within the entire text and not solely within the title

RESULTS:

Displayed in subsections e.g. Prognosis, causes and risk factors, Treatment, and History. These can be accessed either via the main results box or from the left hand side.  Some topics have options to directly display, Diagnosis (Dx), Treatment summaries (Tx), or Dosage (Rx) from the results menu.

Where WARNINGS are available these will be automatically displayed

Calculators, medical equations, clinical criteria, unit & dose converters, and decision trees can be accessed from the 'Calculators' link in the menu bar at the top of the DynaMed homepage.

Patient handouts are taken from a variety of sources and can be found under each topic section. The handouts are provided via links to the originating source.

DynaMed provides an information sheet for citing its resources in NLM, AMA, and APA formats.

CME credits can be freely obtained by reading DynaMed's Weekly Update.  The weekly update selectes articles that DynaMed staff feel are most likely to change clinical practice. Completion of the post test allows doctors to receive CME credits.  To sign up and for more information click on the "weekly update" link at the top right hand corner of each page within DynaMed.