What is Dynamed (Dynamic Medical Information)

What is DynaMed?

DynaMed (now DynaMed Plus and DynaMedex) is an evidence-based clinical reference database that synthesizes medical evidence into point-of-care summaries, enabling clinicians to answer clinical questions rapidly and change clinical decisions more frequently compared to standard information sources. 1, 2

Core Functionality

DynaMed operates as a point-of-care information (POCI) tool that provides synthesized evidence summaries rather than requiring clinicians to search through primary literature. 3, 1 The platform:

• Synthesizes evidence from systematic surveillance of medical literature into detailed topic overviews using an easy-to-read bullet format 1, 2
• Employs a unique three-level rating scale to assess the quality of available evidence, helping clinicians quickly gauge the strength of recommendations 1
• Integrates multiple content types including images, clinical calculators, patient handouts, and practice guidelines in a single location 1

Clinical Impact and Performance

The evidence demonstrates measurable benefits in real-world clinical practice:

• Primary care clinicians answered 75.8% of their clinical questions using DynaMed compared to 71.2% without it, and changed clinical decisions in 64.6% versus 59.5% of cases respectively 2
• Search times remained unchanged despite the increased answer rate, making it a time-efficient resource 2
• Pharmacists found answers to 86.3% of clinical questions using keyword search and 81.0% using the Watson Assistant feature, with 86.0% of answers rated as relevant 4
• Most answers were easy to find (78.7% in keyword search, 94.4% in Watson Assistant), with good quality evidence in 62.7% of cases 4

Evolution to DynaMedex

DynaMed has evolved through partnership with IBM Watson Health (now Merative) to create DynaMedex, which combines:

• Disease management content from DynaMed with pharmaceutical knowledge from Micromedex 3, 4
• Natural language searching capabilities through Watson Assistant technology 3
• Usability across clinical roles, with pharmacists rating ease (mean 5.98/7) and satisfaction (mean 6.31/7) highly 3

Access and Platform

The resource provides flexibility for clinical workflows:

• Available via desktop computers and mobile platforms, enabling point-of-care access 1
• Accessible through keyword search or conversational Watson Assistant interface 3, 4

Key Limitations

While effective, users should be aware that:

• Search term recognition varies, and the system may not recognize all synonyms or alternative phrasings 4
• Citation quality is inconsistent, with the highest quality evidence not always prominently displayed 4
• Inexperienced users may face a learning curve, though the tool generally performs well once familiarity is established 3

DynaMed functions as a clinical decision support database rather than an automated decision-making system, providing synthesized evidence to inform—not replace—clinical judgment. 1, 2