Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1986 Nov;105(5):810-6.
doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-105-5-810.

How to keep up with the medical literature: V. Access by personal computer to the medical literature

R B Haynes, K A McKibbon, D Fitzgerald, G H Guyatt, C J Walker, D L Sackett

How to keep up with the medical literature: V. Access by personal computer to the medical literature

R B Haynes et al. Ann Intern Med. 1986 Nov.

Abstract

Access to the medical literature through personal computers is now readily available and can greatly reduce logistical barriers to using recently published journal articles to support clinical decisions. In this article, we describe many of the options available to clinicians who wish to do their own computer searching of MEDLINE, the largest of the electronic services for the biomedical literature. The "bare bones" computer equipment needed includes a terminal or personal computer, a modern and telephone line, and a printer. Access to MEDLINE is then gained through subscribing to any of a burgeoning number of database vendors. A comparison of 17 permutations and combinations of software and vendors shows that the software and vendors vary substantially in efficiency, cost, and ease of use. Direct subscription to MEDLINE is least expensive, PaperChase is the simplest service to use, and Colleague and Medis provide both MEDLINE access plus full-text journals online. Basic search techniques are illustrated for three clinical problems.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources