Results of Alfred Hospital UpToDate Online Survey - September 2005

1. I became aware of the Alfred's UpToDate site license through :   Response Percent Response Total   Library's homepage 29% 75   Alfred useful links 28.6% 74   Surveys received in 2004 2.7% 7   Announcements via Email 4.6% 12   Posters 8.1% 21   Clinical meetings 4.6% 12   Colleagues 40.5% 105   This is the first I've heard of it! 5.8% 15   Other 3.5% 9 Total Respondents   259 (skipped this question)   0

2. How often do you use UpToDate at the Alfred?   Response Percent Response Total     Daily 25.5% 62     More than once a week 32.5% 79     Once a week 15.2% 37     A few times a month 12.3% 30     Once a month or less 7% 17     Never 7.4% 18 Total Respondents   243 (skipped this question)   16

3. I found that UpToDate provides : Strongly disagree Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly agree Response Average User friendly searching methods 4% (8) 2% (5) 8% (16) 39% (80) 47% (97) 4.23 Relevant information to my field 3% (7) 3% (7) 7% (14) 34% (70) 52% (108) 4.29 Accurate information in my field 3% (7) 2% (5) 8% (17) 34% (70) 52% (107) 4.29 Current information in my field 3% (7) 2% (5) 8% (17) 34% (70) 52% (107) 4.29 Total Respondents   206 (skipped this question)   53

4. I have found that the depth of information in UpToDate is generally :   Response Percent Response Total     Too shallow for my needs 5.9% 12     Just right 86.8% 177     Too detailed and complex 2.5% 5     Other (see below) 4.9% 10 Total Respondents   204 (skipped this question)   55

Other comments from 4. : very little radiation oncology info dependant on need: both too complex and too simple at times: needs summary documents uncertain often irrelevant Detailed but easy to navigate generally v good, but surprising omissions Overall good, though does have weaknesses in some topics in my area(gastro/hepatology) Between 1 and 2 very US focused

5. I have used UpToDate for the following reasons :   Response Percent Response Total   Information for current patient care issues 87.6% 176   Preparation for talk or case review 70.1% 141   Writing an assignment or journal article 39.3% 79   Preparation for exam 39.8% 80   Other 3% 6 Total Respondents   201 (skipped this question)   58

6. Overall the rating I would give UpToDate as a clinical information database is : Very poor Low quality Some value Good Excellent Response Average Evaluation : 1% (2) 1% (3) 6% (12) 24% (48) 68% (136) 4.56 Total Respondents   201 (skipped this question)   58

7. User Category   Response Percent Response Total     SMS / VMO 26.7% 52     HMO / Registrar 48.2% 94     Nursing staff 8.7% 17     Allied health staff 5.6% 11     Researcher 1% 2     Medical Student 4.1% 8     Nursing Student 3.6% 7     Other 2.1% 4 Total Respondents   195 (skipped this question)   64

8. Extra Comments   Love it i use uptodate several times a day for evidence based guidelines and also for teaching purposes - teaching medical students or interns with diagrams, slides, etc. It is an invaluable resource and essential. I have had quite a few clinical situations where we have received an unexpected biopsy result and need to look up the condition before further tests or telling patient. I found UpToDate is very helpful to enable me passing my fellow exam. also very helpful to keep me updated with current advances in Medicine. off-campus access would be fantastic Great idea to have this at The Alfred. It would be very useful to be able access it from home: Any way this can be done would further enhance learning and patient care 1. great for tutorials, and general study. ability to save is useful 2. put it on more computers, especially monash student computers Neurology topics need further detail and updating generally As an educator i have found uptodate an invaluable teaching tool. I frequently encourage bedside clinicians to use the resource Getting access to this at Caufield general hosptial would be extremely useful as it is not currently available. Home access would be fantastic excellent resourse Very informative and depth of information directed at my level. I find it very useful and off campus access would be even better. Indispensible resource Often used to r/v ECG intepretation, preparation for talks on items such as cardiac tumours, anticoagulation, and for clinical decision making or reviews of current literature. Home access would be an excellent option, particulary for on-call staff who have to make clinical decisions from home at times. This is an excellent resource, and one I use on my own laptop at home for study, but to have it here when there is a specific question about a patients and their care is more important. it is an excellent software, should be available through clinicians channel too. I would love to have access off-site as I get asked questions out of hours and I try to access information out of working hours. It is an invaluable resource when tackling a difficult patient problem. We ( as in a 2 or 3 ) consultants in our service will discuss a difficult case and have up to date running to give us further information/confirmation on the problem. Whilst I used to use pubmed and then find the review articles, Up to Date is less time-consuming, which means I can check the a higher authority more often. So for me it impacts directly on patient care. Home access would be fantastic tables and text with thumbnail links are invaluable Would greatly appreciate off-site access As a consultant I am often rung at home about very challenging problems It would be incredibly valueable to have access from home. If there was any way this could be achieved I would be eternally grateful Most useful in accessing current information in areas outside my specialty. Home access would be valuable I'd like home access nonetheless. An essential tool for getting rapid information best thing that the hospital has done for both junior and senior medical clinical staff,in my opinion,for along time! Used yesterday for 4 patients in ICU with C. Difficile for info. on hospital outbreak tracing.Home access would be great for employees doing ICU exams.