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The DSM-IV and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, have established themselves as the main diagnostic references for mental health disorders worldwide. The full text of DSM-IV, like other major medical textbooks, has recently become available in searchable computerized format. This technological advance offers superior searching capability with fast retrieval times, compact storage, and text printing and pasting capabilities. For some mental health professionals, this software may be their first encounter with electronic media.
For research as well as clinical settings, the main advantage of the electronic version of the DSM-IV is the ability to search for a combination of subjects or key words. For example, a search for "anxiety" found 296 hits and a search for "sexual," 194 hits; a search for a crossmatch