We are developing a digital knowledge base of critically appraised information to assist primary care providers in using the best available evidence in their daily management of patients. 

The specific aims of the project will help us determine if a simplification or reduction in the barriers to access and speed of information retrieval can enhance patient care.

Develop and maintain a database of therapeutic alerts, practice guidelines, and other critically appraised knowledge needed immediately at the point of care, with secondary linkage to more complex information formats

Develop a knowledge retrieval system that translates clinical queries that are either input by health providers or extracted from patient data, with results presented quickly and intuitively using World Wide Web technologies

Develop a profile function for individual provider preferences and a portal view of therapeutic alerts and management evidence for top primary care diagnoses

Explore synchronization of selected content to portable computing devices for reference on the go

Work collaboratively with vendors and institutions in developing evidence-based sources and dynamic remote querying through the World Wide Web

Evaluate the utility and effectiveness of PrimeAnswers in meeting the patient care information needs of clinicians in primary care clinics

PrimeAnswers will be piloted in three primary care clinics that employ two different computerized patient record systems, see a mix of patient populations, and are located in different practice locations. 

The project team includes primary care provider advisors, librarians, a programmer, an evaluator, clinical informatics advisors and a drug information specialist. A broader review group is composed of clinic directors, medical directors, and faculty with expertise in evidence-based medicine and outcomes research.  The project team will identify and organize content and design a provider-friendly interface with an open API for integration into web-based electronic medical record systems. 

PrimeAnswers is a critical component of a broader initiative at the University of Washington to create a Clinical Digital Library that integrates fragmented knowledge dispersed across heterogeneous sources for health care providers.