Dynamic Health™, from EBSCO Information Services, is an evidence-based clinical decision support resource designed for quick retrieval of diagnosis and treatment information at the point of patient care. The resource is categorised as point of care tools (PoC). The Dahlgren Memorial Library defines PoC tools as those research and reference resources that a clinician can utilise immediately at the PoC with a patient. They are often built to be easy to use and contain filtered information, curated and maintained by experts. Most of the evidence-based PoC tools include levels of evidence, rating scales or grade recommendations as well as citations back to the original research studies, systematic reviews, or guidelines. Dynamic Health was created to synthesise and evaluate relevant evidence from the most current clinical literature and provide detailed summaries on a wide range of conditions and interventions. 

 

From our end users (clinicians/healthcare professionals), we have captured seven key benefits of employing Dynamic Health in their clinical settings. Those are: clinical utility; functionality, usability and efficiency; impact on clinician-patient interaction; reliability; incorporation into EMR; tailored implementation and system quality improvement. 

 

1. Clinical utility 

Many users felt that Dynamic Health was useful for supporting clinical decision-making and standardising patient care. Clinicians were eager to continue using the tools in clinical practice and would recommend the tool to colleagues. The role of Dynamic Health in facilitating communication between clinicians was also noted. Clinicians also reported improved knowledge, confidence and attention to clinical issues as well as reduced mistakes with use of the tools. 

 

 

 

2. Functionality, usability and efficiency 

Most clinicians found that Dynamic Health was easy to use with an intuitive design and organised format. Increased user confidence and satisfaction was often reported with increased experience and familiarity with the tools. Automated features and interactivity within computer-based systems were generally found to enhance the user experience. 

 

3 Impact on clinician-patient interaction 

Users frequently commented on the impact of the use of Dynamic Health on the clinician-patient interaction. Many felt that the tool facilitated shared decision-making with their patients and promoted collaboration and personalised care. In some cases, tools were found to aid patient understanding and increase trust in management decisions. 

 

4. Reliability 

Upon analysis of the users' perceptions of the reliability of Dynamic Health, it was found that many felt that the tools provided trustworthy decision support and valued the evidence-based appraisal methodology and continually updated tool content. 

 

5. Incorporation into EMR 

Users appreciated the ease of Dynamic Health accessibility through the EMR as well as the efficiency of the auto-population of predictor variables within this system. 

 

6. Tailored implementation 

Feedback identified the influence of clinical environment, workflow and culture on PoC uptake. Users suggested that tailoring tools, such as Dynamic Health, to specific clinical roles or settings would assist in accommodating PoC in different contexts. One user highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary buy-in and the facilitation of inter-departmental concordance for the successful implementation of their facility PoC tool. 

 

7. System quality improvement 

The importance of system usability testing to inform Dynamic Health development and modification was highlighted by users, as they noted the benefit of the tool’s inbuilt user feedback dashboard in guiding re-iteration and refinement of the system. 

 

Dynamic Health Functions  

•    Mobile app (offline content access, voice activation-hands free topic search) 

•    Diseases & Conditions (A-Z diseases & conditions indicate Adult or Pediatric clarification) 

•    Signs & Symptoms (categorized using different biological system, indication of newborn, infant and adolescent) 

•    Tests & Labs (image, lab tests, assessment and diagnostic procedures with image and videos) 

•    Care Interventions (22 specialists, including Wound Care: supplies, step by step guidance of each individual procedures and pre-post procedures) 

•    Skills (Transcultural Care, Patient Instructions and Your Workplace modification also available via Dynamic Health) 

•    Drug Guide (powered by David’s Drug Guide for Nurses with patient teaching information) 

•           Patient Handout (with both conditions and disease, plus tests information) 

 

Other functions such as geriatric patient teaching guide, CPD accumulation and online editorial/research team interaction also available via Dynamic Health. 

 

You can find more information about Dynamic Health by visiting: https://www.ebsco.com/health-care/products/dynamic-health