InfoPOEMS: Critical Appraisals of the Clinical Literature

Galter Health Sciences Library has initiated trial access to InfoPOEMs, an evidence-based current awareness and clinical decision-making tool. The trial will run through May 31, 2007.

What are POEMs anyway?

POEMs are critical appraisals of medical studies, published in each issue of the Journal of Family Practice. The InfoPOEMs Web site states that POEMs must meet three criteria:

1. They must address a relevant question faced by physicians.
2. They must measure outcomes cared about by physicians and patients (e.g.  symptoms, morbidity, mortality, quality of life, etc.).
3. They must have the potential to change the way physicians practice.

As you can see below, POEMs are brief and structured so that you can quickly find the information you're seeking. Each POEM contains a clinical question, a bottom line (answer to the question), an article reference, study design, setting, and a synopsis of the article. POEMs are graded using the levels-of-evidence scale (LOE) developed by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and the clinical bottom line section of each POEM contains the LOE for the article appraised.

 
How do I access InfoPOEMs?

There are multiple ways to access InfoPOEMs. You can access InfoPOEMs from the web through the Galter Health Sciences Library web site. You can register to access InfoPOEMs on your Palm or Pocket PC. You can also set up InfoPOEMs to automatically send POEMs to you via email. Contact Mark Berendsen to set up daily email delivery of POEMs or register for handheld access during the trial period.

Getting Started

What is InfoRetriever?

The search tool in InfoPoems is called InfoRetriever. With InfoRetriever you can simultaneously search the POEMs database and 6 additional resources including the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 5-Minute Clinical Consult, and Clinical Practice Guidelines. You can search by keyword, subject, or ICD-9 Code.

Like many subscription-based services, if you wish to access InfoPOEMs from off-campus, you will first need to log in to the Galter Library Web site.

Please try InfoPOEMs and let us know what you think by completing a very brief survey. We look forward to your suggestions. If you have questions about InfoPOEMs, please contact the reference desk at 312-503-8109.

Written by: Mark Berendsen, Education Librarian