The Columbia University Experience: Infobuttons and the Infobutton Manager James J. Cimino, M.D. Department of Biomedical Informatics Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Medline Button –Translated ICD9-CM to MeSH to search Medline –Hard to build –Did not satisfy users’ needs Columbia Experience Medline Button –Translated ICD9-CM to MeSH to search Medline –Hard to build –Did not satisfy users’ needs Infobuttons –Web-based –Easy to build –Require custom programming –Used preferentially in some settings

Columbia Experience Medline Button –Translated ICD9-CM to MeSH to search Medline –Hard to build –Did not satisfy users’ needs Infobuttons –Web-based –Easy to build –Used preferentially in some settings –Require custom programming Infobutton Manager –Standard set of context variables –Matches context to frequently-asked questions –Each question has corresponding solution –Table-driven Infobuttons –Web-based –Easy to build –Used preferentially in some settings –Require custom programming

34Drug Level InPatient Drugs Any ChildNYPH 33Drug Level InPatient Drugs Any AdultNYPH InfobuttonConceptTaskUserSexAgeInstitute Context Table QuestionURLInfobutton Give me pediatric information for… /pleaflets/… 34 Give me patient information for… /leaflets-english/… 33 Infobutton Table Infobutton Manager

Columbia Experience to Date Questions determined by empiric observation Resources found to answer questions Infobutton Manager links added to WebCIS

Columbia Experience – Next Steps Currently carrying out heuristic evaluation Usability study is next Roll-out to 4000 WebCIS users planned Follow-up observational study to determine: –Usefulness –Impact

Institution-Independent Solutions Contexts are common across institutions Information needs may be common Infobutton Manager is institution-independent “Institute” is a parameter –Questions can be customized by institution –Resources can differ by institution Questions and resources can be shared Terminology is the limiting factor