Current, Evidence-Based Knowledge for Physicians: UpToDate supports quick and accurate decision support for diagnosis and treatment
Waltham, MA (PRWEB) May 06, 2015 -- Wolters Kluwer, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that in a survey of nearly 16,000 clinicians who use UpToDate®, 94% confirmed that use of the clinical decision support resource improves the quality of care they provide.¹ Additionally, by the end of 2014, UpToDate users in more than 170 countries worldwide viewed more than 26 million clinical topics per month, on average. In Germany alone, 95% of all university hospitals use UpToDate.
In Germany and elsewhere, quality, safety, and cost effectiveness are the critical challenges in inpatient and outpatient treatment today. Well-informed patients expect physicians to utilize up-to-date and state-of-the-art medical knowledge resources. In some cases, patients question the medical care they receive. Further, less-than-optimum treatment decisions can cause longer lengths of stay and further additional costs which are often not reimbursed in Germany and other countries. A quick and accurate diagnosis that can inform treatment decisions and outcomes can prove to be as important as the treatment itself.
Faced with heavy workloads and an ever-increasing body of medical knowledge, physicians find it challenging to keep abreast of new research and its implications for their practice. In cases that involve complex disease patterns, diagnoses and treatments, clinical decisions may require hours of research. In this context, UpToDate provides valuable support: Physicians have direct access to more than 10,500 clinical topics via web browser and mobile devices. Access to UpToDate can also be integrated into hospital electronic medical record (EMR) systems for faster access within the clinical workflow.
Doctors can search their clinical questions in English, German, and eight other languages. Results are displayed in English as synthesized summaries of all related studies coupled with graded findings and recommendations. Physicians using the UpToDate mobile app find answers to their clinical questions within about a minute, on average. This quick access to relevant and current medical knowledge provides the basis for significant acceleration and improvement in the quality of diagnoses and treatment decisions.
Physicians using UpToDate access support for their clinical decision-making through more than 9,600 graded, evidence-based and expert-authored recommendations. More than 6,000 renowned physicians, editors, and peer reviewers in 49 countries ensure the timeliness, accuracy and practical relevance of the clinical decision support resource. More than 1 million physicians in 170 countries use UpToDate, which is also widely used as a key resource for medical education at universities. In Germany, 92% of users report that UpToDate improves the quality of care they provide to their patients.2 And, a recent partnership between Wolters Kluwer and the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM), provides special benefits to society members.
1 For more information regarding the subscriber survey, please see “Clinicians Worldwide Confirm Impact of UpToDate on Quality of Care in 2014"
2 2014 UpToDate Individual Subscriber Survey.
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About Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer is a global leader in professional information services. Professionals in the areas of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance and healthcare rely on Wolters Kluwer’s market leading information-enabled tools and software solutions to manage their business efficiently, deliver results to their clients, and succeed in an ever more dynamic world.
Wolters Kluwer reported 2014 annual revenues of €3.7 billion. The group serves customers in over 170 countries, and employs over 19,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).
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Andre M Rebelo, Wolters Kluwer, http://www.wolterskluwerhealth.com, +1 781-392-2411, [email protected]
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