Difference between revisions of "MedlinePlus Connect"

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MedlinePlus® Connect is a free, value-added service that allows electronic health records (EHRs) to link to current, authoritative, patient information available from the MedlinePlus® Web site.  MedlinePlus®, developed and maintained by the National Library of Medicine, is a consumer health information site for patients, families, and health care providers that is composed of patient-focused materials about diseases, conditions, medications, and general health and wellness issues. Using MedlinePlus® Connect may benefit some health care providers by achieving one of the criteria for Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology.   
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MedlinePlus® Connect is a free, value-added service that allows electronic health records (EHRs) to link to current, authoritative, patient information available from the MedlinePlus® Web site.  MedlinePlus®, developed and maintained by the [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ National Library of Medicine], is a consumer health information site for patients, families, and health care providers that is composed of patient-focused materials about diseases, conditions, medications, and general health and wellness issues. Using MedlinePlus® Connect may benefit some health care providers by achieving one of the criteria for [http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/30_Meaningful_Use.asp Meaningful Use] of Health Information Technology.   
  
  
MedlinePlus® Connect accept requests for information based on standard diagnosis/problem codes and medications.  Health topics in MedlinePlus® are mapped to two standard coding systems:  ICD-9-CM and SNOMED CT Core Problem List Subset.  The user of the EHR submits a request for information based on one of the supported diagnosis/problem codes.  MedlinePlus® Connect then matches the code with the most relevant health topic in MedlinePlus®, and the patient-friendly information is sent back to the EHR.  MedlinePlus® Connect will retrieve up to three health topics for each submitted diagnosis/problem code.  At the current time information requests in both English and Spanish are supported.   
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MedlinePlus® Connect accept requests for information based on standard diagnosis/problem codes and medications.  Health topics in MedlinePlus® are mapped to two standard coding systems:  [http://www.cms.gov/ICD9ProviderDiagnosticCodes/01_overview.asp ICD-9-CM] and [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/Snomed/core_subset.html SNOMED CT Core Problem List Subset].  The user of the EHR submits a request for information based on one of the supported diagnosis/problem codes.  MedlinePlus® Connect then matches the code with the most relevant health topic in MedlinePlus®, and the patient-friendly information is sent back to the EHR.  MedlinePlus® Connect will retrieve up to three health topics for each submitted diagnosis/problem code.  At the current time information requests in both English and Spanish are supported.   
  
  
In addition to accessing information on hundreds of health topics, MedlinePlus® Connect can also retrieve medication information that is written specifically for patients.  Two systems of medication codes are used and supported by MedlinePlus® Connect:  RXCUI (RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier) and NDC (National Drug Code).  The drug information retrieved by MedlinePlus® Connect comes from the publication, ''AHFS Consumer Medication Information'', which is licensed for use on MedlinePlus® from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, ASHP, Inc.  Currently only English language drug information is supported.
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In addition to accessing information on hundreds of health topics, MedlinePlus® Connect can also retrieve medication information that is written specifically for patients.  Two systems of medication codes are used and supported by MedlinePlus® Connect:  [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm/ RXCUI] (RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier) and [http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ndc/default.cfm NDC] (National Drug Code).  The drug information retrieved by MedlinePlus® Connect comes from the publication, ''AHFS Consumer Medication Information'', which is licensed for use on MedlinePlus® from the [http://www.ashp.org/ American Society of Health-System Pharmacists], ASHP, Inc.  Currently only English language drug information is supported.
  
  
On the technical side, the application program interface for MedlinePlus® Connect is compliant with the HL7 Context-Aware Knowledge Retrieval (Infobutton) Knowledge Request URL-Based Implementation specification.  A flexible and customizable EHR that allows links to be added to the system is needed for implementing this service. There are no licensing or registration requirements for using MedlinePlus® Connect.  Specific technical details are available from the [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/connect/technical.html MedlinePlus® Connect:  Technical Information] page, and for those interested in learning more about this service, there is an email discussion list.   
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On the technical side, the application program interface for MedlinePlus® Connect is compliant with the [http://www.hl7.org/ HL7] Context-Aware Knowledge Retrieval (Infobutton) Knowledge Request URL-Based Implementation specification.  A flexible and customizable EHR that allows links to be added to the system is needed for implementing this service. There are no licensing or registration requirements for using MedlinePlus® Connect.  Specific technical details are available from the [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/connect/technical.html MedlinePlus® Connect:  Technical Information] page, and for those interested in learning more about this service, there is an email discussion list.   
  
  

Revision as of 00:09, 26 February 2011

MedlinePlus® Connect is a free, value-added service that allows electronic health records (EHRs) to link to current, authoritative, patient information available from the MedlinePlus® Web site. MedlinePlus®, developed and maintained by the National Library of Medicine, is a consumer health information site for patients, families, and health care providers that is composed of patient-focused materials about diseases, conditions, medications, and general health and wellness issues. Using MedlinePlus® Connect may benefit some health care providers by achieving one of the criteria for Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology.


MedlinePlus® Connect accept requests for information based on standard diagnosis/problem codes and medications. Health topics in MedlinePlus® are mapped to two standard coding systems: ICD-9-CM and SNOMED CT Core Problem List Subset. The user of the EHR submits a request for information based on one of the supported diagnosis/problem codes. MedlinePlus® Connect then matches the code with the most relevant health topic in MedlinePlus®, and the patient-friendly information is sent back to the EHR. MedlinePlus® Connect will retrieve up to three health topics for each submitted diagnosis/problem code. At the current time information requests in both English and Spanish are supported.


In addition to accessing information on hundreds of health topics, MedlinePlus® Connect can also retrieve medication information that is written specifically for patients. Two systems of medication codes are used and supported by MedlinePlus® Connect: RXCUI (RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier) and NDC (National Drug Code). The drug information retrieved by MedlinePlus® Connect comes from the publication, AHFS Consumer Medication Information, which is licensed for use on MedlinePlus® from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, ASHP, Inc. Currently only English language drug information is supported.


On the technical side, the application program interface for MedlinePlus® Connect is compliant with the HL7 Context-Aware Knowledge Retrieval (Infobutton) Knowledge Request URL-Based Implementation specification. A flexible and customizable EHR that allows links to be added to the system is needed for implementing this service. There are no licensing or registration requirements for using MedlinePlus® Connect. Specific technical details are available from the MedlinePlus® Connect: Technical Information page, and for those interested in learning more about this service, there is an email discussion list.


Future enhancements of MedlinePlus® Connect include adding laboratory test responses, and support for an XML-based Web service.


Links and References:

Dennis S, Miller N, Burgess S. MedlinePlus® Connect: Linking Electronic Health Records to Consumer Health Information. NLM Tech Bull. 2010 Nov-Dec;(377):e6.

MedlinePlus® Connect: Overview

MedlinePlus® Connect: Demonstration Page

MedlinePlus® Connect: Technical Information

MedlinePlus® Connect: Email List

MedlinePlus®


Submitted by Kim Granath