DCConsult no longer a subscription-based resource.
With a clear trend toward evidence-based care sweeping chiropractic and other health care professions, many clinicians are looking for easy access to the latest research. The Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) took steps to meet that demand in 2008, launching a subscription-based research portal known as DCConsult. Now the FCER is making it even easier to access the latest health care research: The foundation recently announced that doctors of chiropractic, other health care providers and even the public can now access the site free of charge.
The transition to a free-access format comes almost exactly a year after the original launch of the DCConsult Web site last March. At that time, the FCER explained that the site "[was designed to] meet the needs of the chiropractic profession. It is the tangible presence of FCER's Evidence-Based Resource Center (EB-RC). It provides doctors with timely and accurate information that will minimize risk and foster the best possible patient care."
Among the site's various offerings are a research search engine that can translate results into various other languages, information on ongoing research grants, a full listing of chiropractic associations and schools, and links to chiropractic specialty peer-reviewed journals. Site visitors can search PubMed and Google Scholar for research relevant to patient conditions and care plans. Soon to be added is a FCER member-only section offering free audios, patient handouts and other downloads.
According to Dr. Ronald Evans, FCER vice president, "Moving DCConsult into the open access domain has not been without significant challenges. Newer site designs require more data to keep content current. FCER/DCConsult is seeking volunteer expertise to make the content more robust in several ways: Contribution of original evidence-based medicine/evidence-based principles (EBM/EBP) material; abstract mining from any source germane to chiropractic science; book/textbook recommendations for a Web site book list; and occasional chiropractic research consultancy. Never before in the 65-year history of this foundation has the need been greater for the chiropractic profession to step forward and assist with a project of this global magnitude."
Now that DCConsult is a free-access resource, subscribers are eligible for a refund or membership credit. For more information, contact the foundation at fcer@fcer.org.
