A selection of six different articles can be included in editions of your newsletter, in e-mail updates, or posted on your website. These short articles focus on various UpToDate features to help your members make the most of their UpToDate subscription.
Article topics include:
- What is UpToDate? >
- UpToDate helps physicians answer clinical questions more quickly >
- Earn CME credit with UpToDate >
- Look up drug interactions in UpToDate >
- Overview of patient information in UpToDate >
- Save time with UpToDate medical calculators >
What is UpToDate?
Supporting physicians at the point of care
Divisions of Family Practice provides member access at no cost to the individual physician.
UpToDate is an online clinical decision support resource, serving as a trusted medical "colleague" that provides unbiased, evidence-based medical information at the point of care. Subscribers can tap into the collective wisdom and experience of more than 5,100 leading clinicians (including Canadian physicians) on thousands of clinical topics. They can also check drug information, use 135 medical calculators and access over 1,500 patient articles. Registered users can also acquire CME Mainpro credits for researching clinical questions in UpToDate.
UpToDate is available to all funded Divisions of Family Practice members, at no cost to the individual physician. Physicians using UpToDate usually find answers to their clinical questions within two to three minutes, and report that it saves them one to three hours a week researching treatment options. Watch the video above to see what Divisions of Family Practice physicians say about UpToDate.
To register for UpToDate and the mobile app UpToDate Anywhere, go to www.divisionsbc.ca or to your local division homepage, log in and click on the UpToDate menu item on the top navigation bar, then complete the registration form. If you’re not already a member, visit your local Division website to become a division member and gain access UpToDate.
Members who have already purchased UpToDate can apply to be reimbursed on a pro-rated basis for the remainder of their subscription. Please contact your local division to ensure you will have continued access to UpToDate, then e-mail UpToDate Customer Service or phone 1 800-998-6374 for further information.
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UpToDate helps physicians answer clinical questions more quickly
Every day, physicians encounter clinical questions in the course of their daily practice. In fact, studies have shown that:
- Approximately two out of three clinical encounters generates a question.
- Physicians have approximately eleven clinical questions a day.
- Only 40% of these questions get answered.
- Answering all clinical questions could change five to eight patient management decisions each day.1
UpToDate makes finding clinical answers easier by providing current, evidence-based information in an organized, searchable, online format, available at the point of care. Most physicians find answers to their clinical questions within about two minutes and say that it saves them one to three hours a week researching treatment options.
All Divisions of Family Practice-funded physicians have access to UpToDate at no cost to themselves. The resource is accessible through our division’s website or the provincial Divisions of Family Practice website.
1. Covell, DG. Ann Intern Med 1985; 103:596; Green, ML. AM J Med 2002; 109:218; Osheroff, JA. Ann Intern Med 1991:575; Ely, JW. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2005; 12:217; Gorman, PN. Med Decis Making 1995; 15:113.
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Earn CME credits with UpToDate
Did you know that researching clinical questions in UpToDate is eligible for CME Mainpro credits? UpToDate automatically tracks both your search activity and your time spent reading topics and stores the information for up to two years.
To acquire credits, you must be a registered UpToDate user and must log in to UpToDate through the Divisions website. For more information on earning CME credits with UpToDate, click here or watch the online demo (select "CME/CE Credits" from the menu below the player).
UpToDate is available to local division members for use in individual practices, at no cost to the physician. Visit your local Division website to become a member and gain access to more than 10,000 peer-reviewed topics in 21 specialties, as well as drug information, medical calculators, and patient information sheets.
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Look up drug interactions in UpToDate
Did you know that UpToDate can help you quickly and easily check for interactions between drugs you prescribe for your patients, including most Canadian medications?
The UpToDate drug interactions feature allows you to look up drug-to-drug and drug-to-herb interactions. To use this feature, click on the Drug Interactions link found under the search box on the UpToDate home page.
In addition, there are more than 5,100 unique drug topics in adult, pediatric, and international drugs embedded within the text of UpToDate. Physicians can also look up drug information by simply entering the drug name in the search box.
UpToDate is available to local division members for use in individual practices, at no cost to the physician. Visit your local Division website to become a member and gain access to more than 10,000 peer-reviewed topics in 21 specialties, as well as drug information, medical calculators, and patient information sheets.
Download this article in Word >
UpToDate patient information articles
Nearly 1,500 patient information articles are available from UpToDate to help you provide your patients with accurate, comprehensive information about their medical condition. You can email, print, or view the articles together with your patients at the point of care.
“I really consider UpToDate to be an absolutely indispensable resource,” says one Divisions of Family Practice member. “I frequently use the patient information resources as well. I love being able to e-mail the pertinent article directly to my patient without having to print it out.”
With two different types of patient topics available, you can provide materials that are appropriate to your patients’ learning styles and health literacy levels.
The Basics - For patients who want a general overview, these short articles are written in plain language and include graphics and other visual elements. They are available to UpToDate subscribers, who can share them with patients during office visits or via email.
Beyond the Basics - For patients who want more in-depth information, these five- to ten-page articles include detailed information and some medical terms as well as links to related professional topics. They are available to both patients and clinicians free at www.uptodate.com/home/uptodate-benefits-patients.
UpToDate is available to local division members for use in individual practices, at no cost to the physician. Visit your local Division website to become a member and gain access to more than 10,000 peer-reviewed topics in 21 specialties, as well as drug information, medical calculators, and patient information sheets.
Download this article in Word >
Save time with UpToDate’s medical calculators
The online clinical decision support resource UpToDate offers more than 135 calculators to help you quickly and accurately calculate many different medical measurements. Calculators are available for a wide range of topics, from diabetes and nephrology to pediatrics and gastroenterology. Once logged in to UpToDate, users can find a specific calculator by typing a description of the calculation into the search box (e.g., body mass index, cholesterol).
UpToDate is available to local division members for use in individual practices, at no cost to the physician. Visit your local Division website to become a member and gain access to more than 10,000 peer-reviewed topics in 21 specialties, as well as drug information, medical calculators, and patient information sheets.
