Using a full-text data base in a community hospital.

The electronic storage of reference material is called a computer data base. Such systems can store, sort, and retrieve large volumes of information very rapidly. Some new services act as a large library for anyone with a computer and a telephone line. Recent improvements in these systems have made them easier to use and more comprehensive. The Medical Society of Penticton, B.C., has completed its first 14 months' use of one such data base. Despite some limitations, many physicians felt it sufficiently valuable that they plan to continue subscribing to the service.