Background
(Clinical Summaries, Textbooks, etc.)

The best place for clinicians to get up to speed on unfamiliar topics and filling holes in their knowledge base. Several of these resources are (or act as) clinical textbooks with either brief or detailed entries on conditions and interventions. Keep an eye on currency; background resources are often a few years out of date.

Secondary Literature
(Meta-analyses, Systematic Reviews, Evidence-based Guidelines)

These sources summarize the medical literature by finding (via explicit, thorough literature search) and appraising relevant individual studies to answer a particular clinical question. In most cases, clinicians should initiate a search for answers to clinical questions with the secondary literature. Please note that we have placed evidence-based guidelines into this category; the best clinical guidelines can provide an answer to a clinical question based on the best evidence. Again, keep an eye on currency.

Primary Literature
(Controlled Trials, Cohort Studies, Case Studies, etc.)

Primary literature is where researchers publish their findings first. In the health field this is usually journal articles outlining methodology, data, results, and conclusions. The evidence based approach emphasizes a hierarchy of evidence based on study types. When searching for single studies on a topic, clinicians should utilize database tools (limits and filters) to obtain the highest level of evidence to answer a clinical question.

Bedside/Point-of-Care

The Ebling Library provides clinicians with several tools to assist in immediate care for patients. Included are our favorite texts, calculators, coding tools and patient education materials.

Media

A select list of audiocasts, images, and videos aimed at the practicing clinician.

About EBM

A collection of our top EBM guides, tutorials, handouts, tools, and articles.

• UpToDate
  An excellent background resource for students and clinicians interested in efficiently filling holes in their knowledge base. UpToDate is a large on-line medical textbook (~80,000 pages of text) containing short, well-written discussions of medical topics in internal medicine, pediatrics, ob/gyn and family medicine. Each review article is written by an expert in the field being discussed, and is designed to provide a quick way to get up to speed. Approximately 40% of the content is updated every four months.
• ClinicalEvidence (CE)
  Designed for primary care clinicians, this BMJ product reviews treatments for more than 260 conditions seen in primary and hospital care. CE summarizes the current state of knowledge about the prevention and treatment of clinical conditions. Summaries are based on available evidence from systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and observational studies where appropriate, and if no good evidence exists, it says so.
• Essential Evidence Plus (EE+)
  Although EE+ consists of several databases, the one most relevant to those looking for background info is Essential Evidence Topics, which includes over 700 concise, easily digestible, disease topic summaries of interest to primary care clinicians.
• First Consult (IOS mobile platform only)
  First Consult is a point of care tool that covers most major internal medicine topics (over 700) as well as topics in related subspecialties. Each topic (disease/condition) includes background, diagnosis, treatment and management. It also includes a differential Dx section for each. The First Consult app allows the full content to be stored on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch; therefore, users do not need to have online computer access, Wi-Fi, or a 3G/4G data connection. A data connection is required for the initial content download and content updates, but is not required to use the app itself – making First Consult's contents available anytime, anywhere. Updates can be downloaded either automatically or manually (see settings) when connected to the UW-Madison IP network.
• Medscape Reference
  Free online medical reference available to physicians and other health care professionals. Content is updated regularly by more than 8,000 attributed physician or health care providers. Medscape Reference contains articles on over 6,500 diseases and medical topics, and is illustrated with more than 25,000 multimedia files.  Medscape Reference articles do undergo a certain amount physician peer review plus an additional review by a PharmD prior to publication.

• AccessMedicine
  Provides the full-text of 60 of the top current clinical textbooks including Harrison’s Online and Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment. Textbooks can be searched as group or individually. Users can also drill down through each book to view full chapters and sections. In addition, AccessMedicine offers a video/audio database, image database (with thousands of photos/illustrations), interactive self-assessment, case files, diagnostic tools, and the ability to download content to a mobile device.
• MD Consult
  Provides the full-text of 50 of the top current clinical textbooks. Textbooks can be searched as group or individually. Users can also drill down through each book to view full chapters and sections. In addition, MD Consult provides full access to the Clinics of North America series. MD Consult also offers customizable patient education handouts, drug information provided by Gold Standard, full text practice guidelines, 50,000 searchable medical images, news, and free CME.
• Other Textbooks via the Ebling Library
  The Ebling Library provides access to the full content of hundreds of health/medical books.

• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR)
  A database of top quality, constantly updated, systematic reviews (meta-analyses) created by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization of groups of experts. Each of the 6000+ reviews are developed using strict methodology. The majority of reviews involve prevention and therapy; however, reviews involving diagnostic test accuracy are now being added (since 2008).
• Database of Reviews of Effects (DARE)
  Although available on the same website (Cochrane Library), DARE differs from the CDSR in that it does not create systematic reviews. Instead, DARE offers critical appraisals of the systematic reviews published in dozens of journals, health databases, websites, and grey literature sources. Similar to the CDSR, most of the reviews concern the effects of health interventions.
• PubMed
  The best resource to find published literature in the health sciences. PubMed covers thousands of journals in all aspects of the health sciences (clinical, bench, economic, law, social, etc.). Results can be limited to systematic reviews by entering a search query within Clinical Queries or applying the "Subsets" limit: Systematic Review.
• TRIP
  A meta search engine of many levels of literature including EBM synopses, systematic reviews, guidelines, primary literature, etc. Unlike PubMed and some of the other reviews resources, TRIP covers non-published reports and summaries.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Evidence Reports
  A collection evidence reports and technology assessments based on rigorous, comprehensive syntheses and analyses of relevant scientific literature, emphasizing explicit and detailed documentation of methods, rationale, and assumptions. The Evidence Reports are produced by the Evidence Practice Centers for the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
• US Preventive Service Task Force Recommendation Statements
  Reviews of the scientific evidence on preventive services (screening, counseling, and preventive medications) from an independent panel of experts made up of mainly primairy care providers.
• PsycINFO
  Largest database devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Contains millions of records from journal articles (from ~2500 journals), books, book chapters, technical reports, and dissertations. Results can be limited to systematic reviews by applying the meta analysis or systematic review limit in the Methodology section of the search options.
• CINAHL Plus
  The best resource to find literature in allied health (Nursing, OT, PT, Sports Medicine, etc.) and complementary and alternative medicine.  Results can be limited to systematic reviews by applying the meta-analysis or systematic review limit in the "Publication type" section.

• National Guidelines Clearinghouse (NGC)
  Provides structured, standardized summaries of thousands of current practice guidelines created by medical specialty associations, professional societies, public or private organizations, government agencies at the federal, state, or local level, or health care organizations. To be included in the NGC, the guideline creators must have performed a systematic literature search and a review of existing scientific evidence published in peer reviewed journals during guideline development.
• Essential Evidence Plus – EBM Guidelines
  Aimed at primary care clinicians, EBM Guidelines includes 1,000 concise, evidence-based, summaries of symptoms and diseases, over 3,000 high quality evidence summaries, and a library of over one thousand photographs and images.
• TRIP
  A meta search engine of many levels of literature including EBM synopses, systematic reviews, guidelines, primary literature, etc. Guidelines are included from US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and more.
• PubMed
  The best resource to find published literature in the health sciences. PubMed covers thousands of journals in all aspects of the health sciences (clinical, bench, economic, law, social, etc.). Results can be limited to published practice guidelines by applying the "Type of Article" limit: Guideline.
• Current Practice Guidelines in Primary Care (AccessMedicine)
  This handy guide draws information from many sources of the latest guidelines for preventive services, screening methods, and treatment approaches commonly encountered in the outpatient setting.

• ACP Journal Club
  Scans more than 100 clinical journals for high impact clinical studies or reviews that “warrant the attention of clinicians.” Provides abstracts with results and commentary for each article included.
• EvidenceUpdates
  A free resource from BMJ that includes a database of the highest-rated articles from over 120 of the top clinical journals. Each article entry includes abstract and ratings (based on newsworthiness and relevance) as well as comments from the clinical raters.
• POEMs Research Summaries
  The archived collection of 3,500+ regularly updated Daily POEMs. POEMs ("Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters") are synopses of new evidence carefully filtered for relevance to patient care and evaluated for validity, from continuous review, grading, and critical appraisal of all 3000+ studies published monthly in more than 100 journals.

• PubMed
  The best resource to find published literature in the health sciences. PubMed covers thousands of journals in all aspects of the health sciences (clinical, bench, economic, law, social, etc.). Results can be limited to individual studies/trials by applying "Type of Article" limits such Randomized Controlled Trials, Clinical Trial, Case Reports, etc. Users looking for the best evidence to answer clinical questions might consider conducting searches within Clinical Queries.
• Cochrane Registry of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL)
  A database of over 600,000 controlled trials identified by contributors of the Cochrane Collaboration and others, as a part of an international effort to hand search the world´s journals and create an unbiased source of data for systematic reviews. CENTRAL includes reports published in conference proceedings and in many other sources not currently listed in PubMed or other bibliographic databases.
• PsycINFO
  Largest databases devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Contains millions of records from journal articles (from ~2500 journals), books, book chapters, technical reports, and dissertations. Results can be limited to empirical study in the "Methodology" section of the search options.
• CINAHL Plus
  A good resource to find literature in allied health (Nursing, OT, PT, Sports Medicine, et.) and complementary and alternative medicine.  Results can be limited to individual studies and trials by applying “Randomized Controlled Trials” or the Clinical Queries filters.
• TRIP
  A meta search engine of many levels of literature including EBM synopses, systematic reviews, guidelines, primary literature, etc. Guidelines are included from US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and more.
• Web of Knowledge
  A very large general science and social science database that proves useful when looking for literature peripheral to the core health disciplines.