UpToDate® Supports the HL7 Infobutton Standard

Seamless integration of evidence-based clinical decision support into clinical workflow improves quality and cost of patient care

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that UpToDate, part of Wolters Kluwer Health, offers new EHR integration capabilities through an HL7 Infobutton. Clinicians now have easy and efficient access within their clinical workflow to the most current and authoritative information available on over 9,500 topics across 20 specialties. The HL7 Infobutton significantly streamlines the point-of-care decision-making process, saves valuable time and money and most importantly, improves the quality of patient care.

“The results are clear: bringing evidence-based clinical decision support into the clinical workflow saves clinicians time, lowers health care costs and encourages increased utilization of electronic health records to support better patient care”

Dr. Stephen Beck, Chief Medical Information Officer, Catholic Health Partners (CHP), explains, “Integrating UpToDate within the EHR allows CHP to deliver safer, more effective care and allows CHP to ‘make smart providers, smarter.’ There are always opportunities to expand our knowledge as providers, and this gives us the opportunity to do so at the point of care.”

Key benefits of this new integration include:

• Tailored searches of UpToDate content relevant to a specific patient’s disease, condition, medication, lab results, age and gender
• Easy access to UpToDate within the clinical workflow
• Support of Stage 2 Meaningful Use EHR HL7 integration requirements
• Free and fast access to unlimited AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ (Continuing Medical Education credits that MDs need for continued certification)
• Increased utilization of both UpToDate and EHR systems
• Improved clinician satisfaction with EHR systems

According to a June 2011 Clinician Survey conducted by UpToDate, 91% of users said that having UpToDate embedded in their EHR is important to patient care, while 89% reported that it enhances satisfaction with their EHR. 40% suggest having UpToDate embedded in their EHR encourages use of their EHR, underscoring the value of the integration to support meaningful use requirements and improve overall quality of care.

“The results are clear: bringing evidence-based clinical decision support into the clinical workflow saves clinicians time, lowers health care costs and encourages increased utilization of electronic health records to support better patient care,” said Dr. Peter Bonis, Chief Medical Officer, UpToDate at Wolters Kluwer Health. “We recognize the mounting demands placed on clinicians’ time and the requirements for Meaningful Use. Today’s announcement underscores our continued commitment to offering access to practical, detailed and evidence-based recommendations to help clinicians, around the world, make the right decisions at the point of care.”

To learn more about HL7 Infobutton Integration, visit this LINK to access a webcast recording featuring Dr. Beck, “Setting the Standard for Care: HL7 Infobutton Integration.” The webcast also features Dr. Bonis and Dr. Howard Strasberg, Vice President, Medical Informatics, Wolters Kluwer Health, and explores how the HL7 Infobutton is currently used at hospitals, supports Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements for clinical decision support, and impacts patient care.

About UpToDate

UpToDate® is an evidence-based, physician-authored clinical decision support resource which clinicians trust to make the right point-of-care decisions. 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 600,000 clinicians in 149 countries and almost 90% of academic medical centers in the United States rely on UpToDate to provide the best care. 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 2011 annual revenues of €3.4 billion ($4.7 billion).