BMJ Best Practice made free to access for NHS staff

A clinical decision-making support tool is now free to use for all NHS staff.

All staff in England can now access BMJ Best Practice, a point of care tool that guides clinicians and healthcare professionals throughout clinical process.

Drawing on the latest evidence-based research it offers step-by-step guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention, as well as medical calculators, how-to videos and patient information leaflets.

Content includes clinical expertise from more than 1,600 international authors and 2,500 peer reviewers, providing users with up-to-date references available at their fingertips whenever they need it.

The provision of BMJ Best Practice was funded by Health Education England.

Professor Sheona MacLeod, acting director of education and quality at Health Education England, said: “Medical evidence and knowledge is developing rapidly every day. Clinicians and those in training want and need to be confident the decisions they are making are based on the most up to date, evidence-based research and information available.

“BMJ Best Practice gives them exactly that while freeing up their time to focus on patient care and it can help with their continued learning and development, wherever they work and whatever their profession or specialty.”

Clinical information presented through the tool focuses on the most commonly presented conditions, as well as those significant to global health including Covid-19.

It also provides users with the latest on practice-changing evidence and guidance, both in the UK and globally, as well as a toolkit to track individual improvement and learning.

NHS staff in England can access the tool by visiting bmj.com/hee where they can register using their NHS OpenAthens username and password.

Once staff have registered they can also access and use the tool via a mobile app.