Rowland Medical Library Spotlights: BMJ Best Practice
By: Sarah Adcock, EdD, MLIS
BMJ Best Practice is an evidence-based resource designed to assist clinicians in making informed decisions at the point of care. This resource is organized around the patient encounter and provides step-by-step guidance on diagnosis, management, and prognosis.
Key Features of BMJ Best Practice:
- Authored by 1,600 international experts and reviewed by over 2,500 peer reviewers
- Daily updates integrating the latest research
- Automatic CME/CPD activity tracking
- Mobile app with online and offline access
- Over 1,000 clinical summaries across 30 specialties
BMJ Best Practice’s strength is its structured layout, which mirrors the clinical consultation process —beginning with an overview and progressing through case history, diagnosis, treatment algorithms, and follow-up. This organization allows users to quickly navigate to the most relevant sections. Evidence is presented in a format blending narrative explanations, data, and visuals.
For example, imagine a medical student sees a patient presenting with shortness of breath, fever, and cough, and suspects pneumonia. The student could then use BMJ Best Practice to find a comprehensive clinical summary covering diagnosis, differential diagnoses, tests, and treatment options. Evidence tables summarize which tests are supported by current guidelines, while built-in scoring tools offer evidence-based guidance for treatment decisions. The patient discussions section offers guidance on effective patient-provider communication, which can be especially valuable for students learning how to engage in clinical conversations.
BMJ Best Practice serves as a reliable resource to bridge the gap between classroom learning and clinical practice. Faculty can benefit from its guideline-linked content to support teaching, case-based learning, and curriculum development. BMJ Best Practice also includes case reports, drug information, and evidence-based medicine learning modules.
Find BMJ Best Practice on Rowland Medical Library’s A to Z Databases list.
