Web based information on clinical toxicology for the United Kingdom: uptake and utilization of TOXBASE in 2000

AIMS: To examine the use and uptake of TOXBASE, an Internet database for point of care provision of poisons information in the United Kingdom during its first calendar year of web-based access. METHODS: Interrogation of the database software to examine: use by different types of user and geographical origin; profile of ingredient and product access; time of access to the system; profile of access to other parts of the database. RESULTS: Registered users of the system increased in the first full year of operation (1224 new users) and usage of the system increased to 111 410 sessions with 190 223 product monograph accesses in 2000. Major users were hospitals, in particular accident and emergency departments. NHS Direct, a public access information service staffed by nurses, also made increasing use of the system. Usage per head of population was highest in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and least in southern England. Ingredients accessed most frequently were similar in all four countries of the UK. Times of use of the system reflect clinical activity, with hospitals making many accesses during night-time hours. The most popular parts of the database other than poisons information were those dealing with childhood poisoning, information on decontamination procedures, teratology information and slang terms for drugs of abuse. CONCLUSIONS: This Internet system has been widely used in its first full year of operation. The provision of clinically relevant, up to date, information at the point of delivery of patient care is now possible using this approach. It has wide implications for the provision of other types of therapeutic information in clinical areas. Web-based technology represents an opportunity for clinical pharmacologists to provide therapeutic information for clinical colleagues at the bedside.