What are the most common medical reference tools you use- Pros and Cons?

[syncrhodes]

Hi everyone. There are so many medical reference tools out there- just wondering what all of you recommend using and not using.

Here's the info I've gathered so far from research and what I've used.

------UpToDate---------------

Pros- very comprehensive. Almost every topic imaginable. usually can find the topic you want very quickly.

Cons- sometimes too comprehensive. too many details. Not so great for Point-Of-Care...especially when you need to make decisions quickly. Prefer bullet points rather than paragraph text. Takes too long to read the articles. Sometimes articles seem a bit outdated. Make sure to check the dates on the articles.

------Epocrates--------------

Pros- lots of information as well. Easy access to drug information.

Cons- Synopses are often too limited. seems to be missing a lot of information. Sometimes when I'm trying to figure out what questions to ask a patient, the laundry list is overkill and hard to use.

------Dynamed------------

heard a lot about this but haven't used it yet.

------MDConsult------------

-----EMedecine-------------

What do you guys use/recommend/advise against and why?

[reeya]

1.Epocrates free edition is limited but if you subscribe its comprehensive & pretty good.

2. Sanford Antibiotic Guide

3. Tarascon Pharmacopeia

4. Harvard/Massachusettes General Hospital Book (Int Med) Or John Hopkins

5. Diagnosaurus for differential diagnosis

6. Ferri's Guide to Medical Patient

7. 5 min consult

These were recommended to us by our program but I do not own any of it but I plan to get few when I am close to graduation. Almost all professors have suggested these. Good luck deciding !

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

the caveat to all of these is that there are mistakes in all of them! None are completely accurate.

With that said they are a guide only.

Uptodate is our practices gold standard. We each have a subscription.

Epocrates is ok for drug interactions

Skyscape has several excellent calculators and specialized drug references

My local pharmacists are good references too.

[sandnnw, BSN, MSN, EMT-B, APRN]

Don't forget Medscape Mobile.

I have recently been given a copy of the Washington Manual, I'm impressed.

Epoc on-line offers a wealth of info as well, more than the mobile unit. Ditto on Diagnosaurus.

Using any reference is going to take time. 5 minute seems to be the quickest for me, the layout screams efficiency.

[labbio]

I love my 5 min. Use it in clinical and for SOAP notes. It's a pain to carry to clinical but worth it.

[CRF250Xpert]

5 min CC is available electronically. I have LexiComp only because it's fre from my employer. Cons are many. Its is ~$600 if you don't get it free. It doesn't cross ref anything. If you want to go back - you go back to the beginning. Very clunky.

Pros - it's extremely detailed (a con for me). I appreciate getting it free, but I use Epocrates and some Skyscape stuff instead. Every time I open the Lexi - I regret it.

If on a PC, Up-To-date and Micromedex.