LibGuides: PBL Research Guide: Point-of-Care Tools

Point-of-Care Tools

What are point-of-care tools?

Resources designed for clinicians to quickly look up information when they are with a patient
Summaries of evidence-based medicine and/or peer-reviewed sources curated and updated by health professionals
Some contain clinical practice guidelines and images

DynaMed
DynaMed is a clinical reference tool providing quickly digestible content according to the latest evidence-based, peer-reviewed medical literature.

BMJ Best Practice
BMJ's evidence-based, point-of-care resource presents systematic reviews incorporated with expert opinion and guidelines. It covers prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, and drug information in a step-by-step approach.

What about UpToDate?

While practitioners often use UpToDate, it doesn’t provide enough context and transparency for medical students. A good foreground question addresses a topic with some controversy—or isn’t established knowledge—that requires a more complete assessment of the available evidence. To eliminate the possibility of bias, information in UpToDate must be corroborated with other resources.

To learn more about these tools and others, see our guide on Point-of-Care Resources.

Using Point-of-Care Tools for Foreground Questions

Note the grading system

Evidence grading systems are based on the same principles but are not standardized across resources. They are intended to help determine the strength of clinical recommendations.

View references to quickly access best evidence

Follow links to citations to access the guidelines and studies that inform the information summarized in the point-of-care tool.