OVID is web-based resource for searching medical, allied health, scientific, and technical databases. Preceptors in southwest Georgia now have online access to several databases. Two new evidence-based medicine databases have recently been made available to OVID users, Best Evidence and Cochrane's, which make it easier to answer clinical questions. It is practically impossible for any health professional to keep up with such a volume of information. OVID helps provide a solution to this dilemma by providing a powerful, user-friendly tool for searching the medical literature.
Support is rendered via telephone and email, and on-site training is available for new users.
The availability of full text through OVID makes it especially attractive to professionals and students in rural settings, who may not have access to a medical library in the hospitals or clinics in which they practice. This means that the user can find information he or she needs online, then view the article, including pictures, graphs and charts, all without leaving the computer. Computers and communications technologies are becoming a bigger and bigger part of health care. Students who are now in medical and allied health programs find that they must be more skilled in the use of this technology than was the case even 5 years ago. OVID offers them the ability to use the latest technology in medical information while they are completing clinical rotations in rural areas.