Press Release 05-206
Web Tool May Help Doctors Make Better Decisions

Online medical database helps physicians answer clinical questions

Following Hurricane Katrina in Sept. 2005, a doctor talks to a patient with a broken neck. Credit and Larger Version

December 6, 2005

According to a new study in the Nov.-Dec. issue of Annals of Family Medicine, primary care physicians were able to answer more clinical questions when they used a new online resource, the Dynamic Medical Information System, or DynaMed, than if they relied solely upon other resources.

Developed with the support of a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research award, DynaMed is a collection of clinical summaries on more than 1,800 medical topics. Instead of relying solely on texts in the office or other resources, a doctor can log into DynaMed to compare his patients' ailments with a peer-reviewed, searchable database.

In the recent study, many doctors using the tool changed clinical decisions based on evidence they uncovered in the database.

DynaMed is supported by NSF's SBIR program, which emphasizes high-risk, high-payback innovations that are tied to NSF's mission of advancements in science, engineering and education. All proposals are evaluated on the technical merit of their research and development, as well as their technological impact. NSF was the first of 10 federal agencies to reserve a portion of their research and development funds for the SBIR program, which is coordinated by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Joshua A. Chamot, NSF (703) 292-7730 jchamot@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Juan E. Figueroa, NSF (703) 292-7054 jfiguero@nsf.gov

Principal Investigators
Brian S. Alper, DynaMed (978) 356-6500 BAlper@epnet.com

Related Websites
Annals of Family Medicine paper by Alper et al.: http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/content/full/3/6/507

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, its budget is $9.5 billion, which includes $3.0 billion provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 44,400 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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