A new medical search engine for GPs called SearchMedica was launched yesterday by publishers CMPMedica, who publish the GP newspaper Pulse.
The aim of the free search engine is to help GPs find medical information online, with search results linked directly to the keywords searched for.
Lindsay Cook, managing director of CMP information’s specialist markets division told E-Health Insider Primary Care: “SearchMedica has been set up using expertise from Pulse, the GPs’ best-read weekly paper, with major input from growing numbers of GPs daily. You can search the entire web, NHS sites or medical sites chosen by GPs. Search results are independent and ranked according to relevance for GPs.”
CMPMedica claim that SearchMedica is unique because it is the first medical search engine to be created and developed with the assistance of GPs. Search results are organised by relevance from what GPs choose as the most useful sites for referrals.
Software from search technologies provider Convera spiders the internet and corporate servers, sorts the results into groups and lists them by categories such as patient information, clinical evidence or guidelines.
Cook added: “The internet has already made a dramatic difference to the way GPs source information for themselves and their patients, but our contact with GPs over recent years has alerted us to the need for a dedicated search engine to help them get the information they want quickly and easily.”
“SearchMedica is a bespoke search engine that gives GPs the information they need quickly and easily – and is something they can trust. Rather than using conventional search engines such as Google, which brings thousands of results, SearchMedica will bring up only a select few categorised for convenience.”
Approximately 1600 GPs have been involved in the advisory panel responsible for building and testing the search engine, and over 75% of them welcomed the idea of a search engine devoted specifically to GPs.
The search engine was launched by celebrity GP Dr Rosemary Leonard, who is resident doctor on BBC Breakfast, was a member of the advisory panel.
She told EHI Primary Care: “SearchMedica is a wonderful resource for GPs and I am happy to endorse it. It is completely geared towards GP needs and will help to save time in an increasingly pressurised position. When patients come in with something they’ve picked up from the internet, we can now check for ourselves faster and offer the patient the re-assurances they need.”
Medical students Kate Softer and Oliver Thomas from Royal Free & University College added: “It will help us to get medical research notes we need much faster and add to the knowledge we pick up from our textbooks. It’s a great resource for anyone involved in medical practice.”
Ian Eckert, director of internet development at CMP told EHI Primary Care: “Every new site is tested against a criteria set by our editorial team before inclusion in SearchMedica which looks at the relevance, authority and reliability of the websites being put forward to us. Our list of ‘medical sites chosen by GPs’ is exactly that. It currently contains around 1,200 websites and we hope to see that increase over time.”
EHI Primary Care tested the search engine against Google and found that SearchMedica did indeed cut out non-relevant links compared to Google.
Dr Paul Bracey, a GP in Liverpool said: “SearchMedica is an excellent idea and it is great to find a search engine that is specifically for GPs. I have no doubt I will use it almost every day and my colleagues feel the same, after I showed them the site.”
CMPMedica now aim to start marketing the search engine in GP publications and if it is a success, will consider launching it overseas. The site will soon host advertisements from medical companies and may include sponsored results, if there is enough demand for this.
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