Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The University of Waterloo Library now has access to UpToDate, a popular evidence-based point of care tool used to support clinical decision making. Covering more than 9,500 clinical topics and providing access to over 5,200 drug monographs, content spans 21 clinical specialties and makes UpToDate a unique resource available through the Library. Available to all students, staff, and faculty at the University, this addition is particularly relevant for the Schools of Pharmacy, Optometry and Vision Science, and the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.
Content includes coverage in areas such as allergy and immunology, cardiovascular medicine, geriatrics, internal medicine, infectious diseases, neurology, women's health, oncology, pediatrics, primary care, psychiatry, rheumatology, pharmacy, and much more!
Drug names in UpToDate entries link directly to Lexicomp drug monographs which allows smooth access to this important source of drug information. As the University of Waterloo Library already subscribes to Lexicomp, this integration of resources provided an enhanced experience when searching for clinical and drug information, including drug interactions.
An example UpToDate topic is “Seafood allergies: Fish and shellfish”, which includes synthesized clinical information and evidence pertaining to epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, management, information for patients, and additional references. In addition to synthesized clinical information, this tool provides quality patient information which explains clinical conditions in plain language. This educational portal includes short 1-3 page articles, known as “The Basics”, as well as longer 5-10 page articles, known as the “Beyond the Basics”, which offer more detailed information. Another feature of UpToDate is its various medical calculators, for example: blood ethanol concentration estimation, glycemic assessment, estimated date of delivery, and the rheumatoid arthritis disease activity score are just a few of the calculators available via this resource.
Be sure to check out UpToDate!
For more information, contact:
Shannon Gordon
Pharmacy librarian
519-888-4567, ext. 21313
