Increasing the efficiency of medical research with dynamic research summaries for researchers and consumers

Literature reviews are usually the first step in conducting medical research projects.They often lead to the creation of a useful research question. However, this initialstep in medical research contains inefficiencies, which if removed, could speedup the research process and thereby enhance development of innovative healthrelated products. In addition, existing research article databases offer informationwhich is inaccessible to most lay consumers. This article proposes an alternativeapproach for allowing researchers to assess the state of research in a particulararea called “dynamic research summaries.” These summaries would offer a regularlyupdated narrative of existing research in any given area. They could increasethe speed at which researchers of all levels review literature and develop usefulresearch questions. In addition, this article proposes translating this information into a consumer friendly form that enhances the ability of non-expert consumers to review existing research relevant to their illness or a loved one’s illness. This consumer friendly version could also be translated into other languages, such as Spanish in the US, to increase accessibility for minority groups that speak other languages more proficiently. Finally, the article discusses the potential of either the public or private sector leading efforts to develop dynamic research summaries for experts and consumers