Mastering scientific intelligence in medicine: challenges and best practices

Why is scientific intelligence essential in medicine?

The explosion in medical knowledge means that practices need to be regularly updated.

The main benefits of medical intelligence include

• Updating knowledge to improve the quality of care
• Responding appropriately to patients, who are increasingly well-informed
• Identifying experts and collaborators to enhance your professional network
• Improved scientific collaboration thanks to exchanges between professionals

What is scientific intelligence in medicine?

Scientific monitoring is a strategic activity that enables healthcare professionals to keep abreast of publications and innovations in their field. Unlike one-off bibliographic research, it is based on regular monitoring of medical advances to anticipate developments and incorporate the latest knowledge into clinical practice.Différence entre veille scientifique, veille médicale et veille sanitaire

• Scientific intelligence: monitoring developments in knowledge and innovations in a medical field
• Medical intelligence: monitoring clinical trends and recommendations to optimise patient care
• Health monitoring: detection of unusual events representing a risk to public health, carried out by national and international bodies

Pull vs. push monitoring: two monitoring strategies

Healthcare professionals can adopt different approaches to organising their scientific intelligence. There are two main methods: ‘pull’ and ‘push’ monitoring.

Pull’ monitoring: an active, personalised approach

Pull’ monitoring is based on a manual and targeted search for scientific information. It consists of regularly consulting reference sources such as medical databases. (PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library), specialist magazines (The Lancet, JAMA, NEJM) and institutional websites (OMS, HAS).

This type of monitoring is particularly useful for delving deeper into a specific subject or checking the state of knowledge on a particular medical issue. It offers a high level of control over the information gathered, as the professional chooses his or her own search criteria (keywords, authors, journals, publication period,...).

However, pull monitoring can be time-consuming, requiring time to sort and analyse relevant publications. It also requires methodological rigour to avoid missing out on important advances.

Push monitoring: an automated flow of information

In contrast, ‘push’ monitoring involves automatically receiving relevant information without having to actively seek it out. This type of monitoring uses digital tools that send regular updates in the form of alerts, newsletters or RSS feeds.

Platforms such as PubMed, for example, allow you to set up alerts based on specific keywords so that you are notified as soon as a new article is published. Applications such as Medscape and QxMD also offer personalised recommendations based on the user's medical specialities.

The major advantage of push monitoring is that it saves time: the healthcare professional receives the most relevant information directly, reducing the search effort. However, this method requires the tools to be properly configured to avoid being overwhelmed by irrelevant alerts.

Which approach should you choose?

In practice, a combination of the two strategies is often the best approach. Pull’ monitoring allows you to delve deeper into specific subjects when necessary, while “push” monitoring guarantees a constant flow of information without any extra effort. By combining these two methods and exploiting the appropriate digital tools, healthcare professionals can optimise their scientific intelligence in an effective and relevant way.

The 5 key stages in effective scientific intelligence

1. Define your research objectives and focus: identify the key issues to be followed up
2. Identify reliable sources: rely on databases, scientific journals and recognised institutions
3. Gather information: use monitoring tools to automatically retrieve relevant publications
4. Analysing and validating data: assessing the reliability of sources and extracting key information
5. Integrate and share knowledge: apply new data to your clinical practice and disseminate it within your professional network

Tools and sources for optimum scientific intelligence

Journals and databases

• French-language media and scientific journals : La presse médicale, le Quotidien du Médecin, Revue Médicale Suisse, Prescrire, La revue du praticien, Revue Francophone des Laboratoires, Le quotidien du pharmacien…
• International media and journals : Medscape, MedPage Today, HealthDay, UpToDate, The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), BMJ (British Medical Journal), The British Journal of Surgery (BJS), PLOS Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine…
• Databases : PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Embase, Vidal

Digital tools and scientific communities

• Scientific social networks : X, ResearchGate, LinkedIn, Mendeley, Sermo, Figure 1
• Mobile applications : QxMD, Medscape, PaperDoc
• Webinars and conferences : networking and access to the latest trends

The challenges of scientific intelligence

1. Continued increase in the number of scientific publications

The volume of scientific knowledge available in medicine continues to grow, and this trend is accelerating. Every year, between 2 and 3 million new publications appear online in around 30,000 scientific journals, more than half of which are dedicated to the health sciences. Faced with this constantly expanding mass of information, it has become impossible to keep up with everything manually. To keep abreast of advances in your speciality, it is essential to adopt an effective monitoring approach, based on appropriate technological tools.

2. Finding the time to keep watch

Doctors' workloads limit the time available for monitoring. Automation and alert systems can optimise this process effectively.

3. High access costs

Access to scientific journals and medical databases represents a significant cost for healthcare professionals and researchers. A subscription can cost several hundred euros a year, and to keep abreast of medical advances it is often necessary to subscribe to several journals, which adds even more to the bill.

4. The language barrier

With 98% of publications in English, articles can be difficult to understand. Automatic translation services integrated into monitoring platforms facilitate access to information.

Conclusion

Scientific intelligence is a fundamental lever for healthcare professionals wishing to maintain excellence in their practice. Given the explosion in knowledge, the adoption of digital tools and automation strategies is becoming essential. Effective intelligence requires rigorous organisation, high-performance tools and a collaborative approach.

PaperDoc: A solution to facilitate scientific monitoring for healthcare professionals

In an environment where the amount of medical information is exploding, Paperdoc is an essential tool for optimising scientific monitoring and ensuring rapid access to the latest advances. Thanks to its advanced features, Paperdoc enables healthcare professionals to filter, understand and make effective use of the knowledge generated by research.

• Unlimited searches with Archie: thanks to its powerful AI engine, Archie allows users to quickly identify the most relevant articles from among millions of scientific publications, avoiding the time-consuming manual searches.
• Automatic generation of summaries with PaperDoc.AI Reading and analysing full articles takes time. PaperDoc.AI summarises the key points of a publication in just a few seconds, enabling doctors and researchers to quickly grasp the essence of a study without having to read the entire text.
• Automatic translations: The majority of scientific articles are published in English, which can be a barrier for some professionals. Paperdoc includes an unlimited translation function, guaranteeing direct access to knowledge, whatever the original language.
• Personalised article recommendations: Rather than navigating through a flood of untargeted information, Paperdoc suggests articles based on the user's interests and specialisms. This intelligent approach optimises scientific monitoring and allows users to focus on the most relevant content.

By centralising these functions on a single platform, Paperdoc simplifies access to medical information and helps healthcare professionals stay informed without having to take out expensive subscriptions or spend hours searching for documents. This saves valuable time, improving clinical decision-making and the quality of care.