UpToDate Helps UK Clinicians Achieve Revalidation, CPD, and Medical Education Objectives

Leicester, UK — (March 25, 2013) — Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that its clinical decision support (CDS) system, UpToDate®, has a positive impact on medical education for not only registrars in training and junior doctors, but it can also play a role in continuing professional development (CPD) and revalidation. Interactive learning that is sequenced or reinforced in multiple sessions improves retention and has the potential to improve quality of care.1 UpToDate is emerging as a resource in on-the-job continuing professional development (CPD) and revalidation for senior clinicians.

Web-and mobile-device-based clinical decision support resources like UpToDate are playing an increasingly important role in the continuing professional development process. At the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, clinicians are jumpstarting the revalidation process by using UpToDate as a pain-free CPD resource. Real-time research using UpToDate at the point of care can contribute significantly to the self-led learning component of CPD, while also delivering improved quality of care and outcomes.

Sarah Sutton, Clinical Librarian, University Hospitals of Leicester, stated: “Using UpToDate gives a patient-focused approach to CME. It gives doctors in my hospital the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned while they are with the patient and provides a pain free, efficient CPD experience. UpToDate is something the doctors in my hospital are passionate about and they feel encouraged and motivated to seek it out and use it.”

For revalidation, physicians will be expected to provide evidence of on-going medical education by participating in CPD/CME activities. Clinical decision support tools like UpToDate that offer online usage tracking and a certificate of completion can play a significant role in this process. UpToDate also has an important measurable impact on medical education for registrars in training and junior doctors. A study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that using UpToDate 20 minutes per day was comparable in knowledge acquisition to the benefit of a year in residency training.²

Denise Basow, M.D., Vice President/General Manager and Editor-in-Chief, UpToDate at Wolters Kluwer Health, Clinical Solutions commented on UpToDate’s commitment to educating doctors: “Our mission is to improve care everywhere, and as a globally-recognized leader in continuing medical education, UpToDate helps clinicians stay current with the latest evidenced-based clinical knowledge.”

Free HSJ Webinar: Benefits of Clinical Decision Support for Medical Training, CPD and Revalidation

To learn more, healthcare professionals are invited to attend a webinar hosted by Health Services Journal to discuss the role of clinical decision support in medical training, continuing professional development and revalidation. The informative webinar will offer clinicians practical recommendations and tips for maximizing the educational and training benefits of CDS at their hospital.

When: 27 March 2013

Where: HSJ TV

Link: http://www.hsj.co.uk/webinar-uptodate

About UpToDate

UpToDate^® is an evidence-based, physician-authored clinical knowledge system which clinicians trust to make the right point-of-care decisions. UpToDate’s more than 5,100 world-renowned physician authors, editors and peer reviewers use a rigorous editorial process to synthesize the most recent medical information into trusted, evidence-based recommendations that are proven to improve patient care and quality. More than 700,000 clinicians in 158 countries and almost 90% of academic medical centers in the U.S. rely on UpToDate, and more than 30 research studies confirm UpToDate’s widespread usage and association with improved patient care and hospital performance, including reduced length of stay, adverse complications and mortality.

UpToDate is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2012 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.6 billion). 

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^{1. Davis, D., et al,. Impact of formal continuing medical education: do conferences, workshops, rounds, and other traditional continuing education activities change physician behavior or health care outcomes? JAMA, 1999. 282(9); p. 867-74}

^{2. Factors associated with medical knowledge acquisition during internal medicine residency. Authors: McDonald FS, Zeger SL, Kolars JC. Factors associated with medical knowledge acquisition during internal medicine residency. J Gen Intern Med. 2007 Apr 28.}