Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA logoLink to Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA
. 1994 Sep-Oct;1(5):372–380. doi: 10.1136/jamia.1994.95153425

MEDLINE: the options for health professionals.

E H Wood 1
PMCID: PMC116219  PMID: 7850561

Abstract

The bibliographic database MEDLINE, produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), is a computerized index to the world's biomedical literature. The database can be searched back to 1966 and contains 6.8 million records. The various means of access are divided, for the purposes of this article, into three categories: logging onto a remote host computer by telephone and modem or by the Internet; subscribing to part or all of the database on compact disc (CD-ROM); and leasing the data on a transport medium such as magnetic tape or CDs for loading on a local host computer. Decisions about which method is preferable in a given situation depend on cost, availability of hardware and software, local expertise, and the size of the intended user population. Trends include increased access to the Internet by health professionals, increased network speed, links from MEDLINE records to full-text databases or online journals, and integration of MEDLINE into wider health information systems.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (987.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Brahmi F. A. MEDLINE, cancer-CD, SCI-CD addition on CD-ROM. MD Comput. 1989 Jan-Feb;6(1):12–19. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Broering N. C. Fulfilling the promise: implementing IAIMS at Georgetown University. Med Prog Technol. 1992;18(3):137–149. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Capodagli J. A., Mardikian J., Uva P. A. MEDLINE on compact disc: end-user searching on Compact Cambridge. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1988 Apr;76(2):181–183. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Clayton P. D., Anderson R. K., Hill C., McCormack M. An initial assessment of the cost and utilization of the Integrated Academic Information System (IAIMS) at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1991:109–113. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cox J. J., Dawson K. J., Hobbs K. E. The electronic information revolution and how to exploit it. Br J Surg. 1992 Oct;79(10):1004–1010. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800791007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dalrymple P. W. CD-ROM MEDLINE use and users: information transfer in the clinical setting. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1990 Jul;78(3):224–232. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fowler J., Barber S., Gilson H., Long K. B., Gorry G. A. The MEDLINE Retriever. Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1992:473–477. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fox G. N. Computer literature searching--will docs byte? Fam Pract Res J. 1991 Mar;11(1):9–13. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Fuller S. S. Creating the future: IAIMS planning premises at the University of Washington. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1992 Jul;80(3):288–293. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gagnon K. Manual and computer-assisted literature searches. Am J Psychiatry. 1991 Apr;148(4):549–549. doi: 10.1176/ajp.148.4.549a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gannon R. P. Comparison of search strategies on CD Plus/MEDLINE. CMAJ. 1992 Jan 15;146(2):100–101. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Haynes R. B., McKibbon K. A., Fitzgerald D., Guyatt G. H., Walker C. J., Sackett D. L. How to keep up with the medical literature: V. Access by personal computer to the medical literature. Ann Intern Med. 1986 Nov;105(5):810–816. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-105-5-810. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Haynes R. B., Ramsden M. F., McKibbon K. A., Walker C. J. Online access to MEDLINE in clinical settings: impact of user fees. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1991 Oct;79(4):377–381. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Haynes R. B., Walker C. J., McKibbon K. A., Johnston M. E., Willan A. R. Performances of 27 MEDLINE systems tested by searches with clinical questions. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 1994 May-Jun;1(3):285–295. doi: 10.1136/jamia.1994.95236159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Henderson S. Future access to Medline. Aust Fam Physician. 1993 Mar;22(3):428–430. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hewison N. S. Evaluating CD-ROM versions of the MEDLINE database: a checklist. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1989 Oct;77(4):332–336. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kelly J. A., Hillson S. D. Searching for answers. Using computers to find the literature you need for patient care. Minn Med. 1992 Oct;75(10):39–41. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kilby S. Database searching made easy. Nurs Educ Microworld. 1991 Feb-Mar;5(3):18–18. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kingsland L. C., 3rd, Harbourt A. M., Syed E. J., Schuyler P. L. Coach: applying UMLS knowledge sources in an expert searcher environment. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1993 Apr;81(2):178–183. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lawson R. PaperChase: a user-friendly program for searching the biomedical literature. Biotechniques. 1990 Jun;8(6):680–683. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Lee R. B., Balthazar L. B. The evolution and installation of an in-house CD-ROM LAN. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1991 Jan;79(1):63–65. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Lindberg D. A., Siegel E. R. On assessing the impact of medical information: does MEDLINE make a difference? Methods Inf Med. 1991 Oct;30(4):239–240. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Lindberg D. A., Siegel E. R., Rapp B. A., Wallingford K. T., Wilson S. R. Use of MEDLINE by physicians for clinical problem solving. JAMA. 1993 Jun 23;269(24):3124–3129. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Lindberg D. A., West R. T., Corn M. IAIMS: an overview from the National Library of Medicine. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1992 Jul;80(3):244–246. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Lorenzi N. M. Introduction: Integrated Academic Information Management Systems (IAIMS). Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1992 Jul;80(3):241–243. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Ludwig L., Mixter J. K., Emanuele M. A. User attitudes toward end-user literature searching. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1988 Jan;76(1):7–13. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Lunn R. H. Paper Chase can put you back in the hunt. Cranio. 1991 Jul;9(3):187–188. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. McCarn D. B., Leiter J. On-line services in medicine and beyond. Science. 1973 Jul 27;181(4097):318–324. doi: 10.1126/science.181.4097.318. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. McCarn D. B. MEDLINE users, usage and economics. Med Inform (Lond) 1978 Sep;3(3):177–183. doi: 10.3109/14639237809014178. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. McCarn D. B., Moriarty D. G. Computers in medicine. Hospitals. 1971 Jan 1;45(1):37–39. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. McCarn D. B. Planning for on-line bibliographic access by the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1970 Jul;58(3):303–310. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. McCarn D. B. The biomedical communications network. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1969 Oct;57(4):323–328. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. McCarn G. H. The on-line user network: organization and working procedures. Med Inform (Lond) 1978 Sep;3(3):211–223. doi: 10.3109/14639237809014181. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. McGrath F., Tomaiuolo N. G. Practice locally, search globally. Conn Med. 1993 Mar;57(3):155–161. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. McKibbon K. A., Haynes R. B., Dilks C. J., Ramsden M. F., Ryan N. C., Baker L., Flemming T., Fitzgerald D. How good are clinical MEDLINE searches? A comparative study of clinical end-user and librarian searches. Comput Biomed Res. 1990 Dec;23(6):583–593. doi: 10.1016/0010-4809(90)90042-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Miller P. L., Paton J. A., Clyman J. I., Powsner S. M. Prototyping an institutional IAIMS/UMLS information environment for an academic medical center. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1992 Jul;80(3):281–287. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Mitchell J. A., Johnson E. D., Hewett J. E., Proud V. K. Medical students using Grateful Med: analysis of failed searches and a six-month follow-up study. Comput Biomed Res. 1992 Feb;25(1):43–55. doi: 10.1016/0010-4809(92)90034-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Mitchell J. A., Johnson E. D., Proud V. K. New thoughts about medical students as effective searchers of MEDLINE. Acad Med. 1990 Jul;65(7):434–437. doi: 10.1097/00001888-199007000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Murphy J. W., James N. W., 4th, Williams P. A., Hillman R. S. A residency-based information system. Ann Intern Med. 1990 Jun 15;112(12):961–963. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-112-12-961. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Nelson J. L. An analysis of transaction logs to evaluate the educational needs of end users. Med Ref Serv Q. 1992 Winter;11(4):11–21. doi: 10.1300/j115v11n04_02. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Nelson M. L. Searching question: on-line or CD-ROM? JAMA. 1991 Oct 23;266(16):2223–2224. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Pao M. L., Grefsheim S. F., Barclay M. L., Shipman B. L. Student use of MEDLINE: an analysis of the effects of experience and searching knowledge and skills on retrieval in a clinical situation. Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1992:478–482. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Paton J. A., Belanger A., Cheung K. H., Grajek S., Branch K. A., Ikeda N., Sette L., Miller P. L., Fryer R. K. Online bibliographic information: integration into an emerging IAIMS environment. Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1992:605–609. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Poisson E. H. Levels of end-user and mediated searching. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1990 Oct;78(4):411–411. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Raymond H. W. Literature databases for radiologists. Semin Ultrasound CT MR. 1992 Apr;13(2):122–134. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Ribitzky R. Integrating CD-ROM Medline with electronic mail: first step in implementing new strategy for online reference library. Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1991:578–582. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Robbins K. Use of MEDLINE by health sciences faculty at the University of Minnesota. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1993 Apr;81(2):226–228. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Satya-Murti S. A core electronic medical library in a rural setting. Part II: The on-line system. Kans Med. 1992 Nov;93(11):302–304. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Scheidt S. S., Goldstein H., Blackburn L. S. Application of the office or home computer to searching the medical literature. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1986 Nov;8(5):1211–1217. doi: 10.1016/s0735-1097(86)80402-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Seago B. L., Campbell F. M. A comparison of MEDLINE CD-ROM and librarian-mediated search service users. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1993 Jan;81(1):63–66. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Shea S., Sengupta S., Crosswell A., Clayton P. D. Network information security in a phase III Integrated Academic Information Management System (IAIMS). Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1992:283–286. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Slack W. V., Bleich H. L. PaperChase. Ann Intern Med. 1987 May;106(5):782–783. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-106-5-782. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Smith B. J., Darzins P. J., Quinn M., Heller R. F. Modern methods of searching the medical literature. Med J Aust. 1992 Nov 2;157(9):603–611. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1993.tb121808.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Stead W. W., Baker W., Harris T. R., Hodges T. M., Sittig D. F. A fast track to IAIMS: the Vanderbilt University strategy. Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1992:527–531. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Stead W. W., Roderer N., Zimmerman J. L. Successful principles for collaboration: formation of the IAIMS consortium. Acad Med. 1991 Apr;66(4):196–201. doi: 10.1097/00001888-199104000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Thirion B., Darmoni S. J., Moore N. Costs of medline and CD-ROM searching. Lancet. 1992 Aug 1;340(8814):308–308. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(92)92398-y. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Veenstra R. J. Clinical medical librarian impact on patient care: a one-year analysis. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1992 Jan;80(1):19–22. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  58. Wakeford R., Roberts W. Using Medline for comprehensive searches. BMJ. 1993 May 22;306(6889):1415–1415. doi: 10.1136/bmj.306.6889.1415-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Walker C. J., McKibbon K. A., Haynes R. B., Johnston M. E. Performance appraisal of online MEDLINE access routes. Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care. 1992:483–487. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  60. Wallingford K. T., Humphreys B. L., Selinger N. E., Siegel E. R. Bibliographic retrieval: a survey of individual users of MEDLINE. MD Comput. 1990 May-Jun;7(3):166–171. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  61. Warling B., Gilman L. B. Manual versus MEDLINE searches. Am J Psychiatry. 1991 May;148(5):686–687. doi: 10.1176/ajp.148.5.686b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  62. Wolffing B. K. Computerized literature searching in the ambulatory setting using PaperChase. Henry Ford Hosp Med J. 1990;38(1):57–61. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES