Author Archives: Dina

Updated PubMed Central (PMC) Website

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In October 2024, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) updated the PubMed Central (PMC) website. Apart from the most obvious change – the URL of the PMC homepage is now pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – most of these important modernization updates are related to the digital accessibility of the PMC website and designed to ensure its reliability and sustainability into the future.

More specifically, from PubMed Central (PMC) Transitions to Updated Website – NCBI Insights:

“The updated website runs on cloud services to ensure the website’s long-term sustainability and reliability. It also incorporates U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) components and design principles to improve PMC’s readability and accessibility, whether you are visiting on a desktop computer, mobile device, or accessing its content using assistive technology.” 

For example, the PMC article display has been tweaked to improve its readability:

See this section of the PMC User Guide to learn more about the key features and functionality available both on the desktop version and mobile version article displays.

To read about the great work NLM is doing to ensure equitable access to its products – see:
The Future of PubMed Central: Publicly Accessible, Digitally Equitable, Universally Valuable – NLM Musings from the Mezzanine

Questions?  Ask Us at the MSK Library!

NIH All of Us Researcher Workbench – Data Browser

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The NIH All of Us Research Program is “part of an effort to advance individualized health care by enrolling one million or more participants to contribute their health data over many years”.

All of Us data is derived from various sources, including surveys, shared electronic health records, and much more. This collected data is housed in the All of Us Research Hub, which uses a tiered-data access model that includes a Public Tier dataset that “displays high-level summaries of the data available for research. Through the Data Browser, one can explore anonymized, aggregated participant data and summary statistics.”

As Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is listed as registered Institution with a Data Use and Registration Agreement (DURA) in place, MSK researchers can proceed to register for an account if they wish to gain access the curated datasets beyond the Public Tier dataset. 
Note: Authorized users of the All of Us data are expected to conduct research that follows and conforms to the All of Us Research Program data use policies.

The interactive, public Data Browser is a great place to learn about the type and quantity of data that All of Us collects so that interested researchers can start thinking about potential research questions that this data could help answer. Here’s a glimpse at what it looks like – from https://databrowser.researchallofus.org:

The Data Browser can be searched using keywords across all data types, or users can choose to click on the browsable tiles to explore a particular data type or source. 

From: https://databrowser.researchallofus.org/survey/social-determinants-of-health

For example, the Social Determinants of Health tile will lead users to more specific information, including a view of the survey questions themselves, each presented with a link to “See Answers” that leads to a breakdown of the aggregated participant answers.

To learn more about the NIH All of Us Researcher Workbench and to get an idea of how other researchers are already using this data, please check out the following resources:

…or Ask Us at the MSK Library!

25 Years of MedlinePlus

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The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)’s consumer health information online resource, MedlinePlus, just turned 25 years old! For a historical look back – see:

25 Years of Consumer Health Information: MedlinePlus Celebrates Its Silver Anniversary – NLM Musings from the Mezzanine (nih.gov)

Soon after NLM made the PubMed database (a free index to the biomedical and life sciences literature aimed primarily at health care professionals and researchers) available in 1996, NLM realized that the need for accessible and authoritative health information extended beyond health professionals to the general public.

And so MedlinePlus.gov came online starting in Fall 1998 and has continued to grow and evolve ever since.

Some noteworthy MdlinePlus enhancements over the years have been the inclusion of quality health information in Spanish, information about herbs and supplements, drug information summaries, medical test summaries, information about genes and genetics conditions, healthy recipes, and over 1000 health topics.

Most recently, in 2020, another NLM resource, Genetics Home Reference (GHR), was incorporated into MedlinePlus in the form of the MedlinePlus Genetics module that includes easy-to-understand “Help Me Understand Genetics” pages intended for patients.

Also worthy of highlighting have been NLM’s efforts to expand the reach of this valuable consumer health information by creating MedlinePlus Connect, “a free service that links electronic health records (EHRs), patient portals, and other health IT systems to relevant, authoritative, and up-to-date health information from NLM’s MedlinePlus health information resource and other NIH websites.” To understand how MedlinePlus Connect works, click here. The National Cancer Institute has also collaborated “to expand the scope of content in MedlinePlus Connect”.

Learn more:

Burgess S, Dennis S, Lanka S, Miller N, Potvin J. MedlinePlus Connect: Linking Health IT Systems to Consumer Health Information. IT Prof. 2012 May;14(3):22-28. doi: 10.1109/mitp.2012.19. PMID: 23066351; PMCID: PMC3469315.

Questions? Ask Us at the MSK Library!