MD Consult Announces One-Year Pilot Deal with NHS Education for Scotland; Partnership Provides NHS Users Quick, Easy Access to MD Consult's Medical Resources.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 2003

MD Consult, the family of online clinical information services for physicians, recently closed a one-year 'pilot' access deal with the NHS Education for Scotland. The agreement will give NHS Scotland's users complete access to MD Consult's Core and Pain Collections in 2003. NHS Scotland users will also have a new and convenient way to access MD Consult, using the Athens user password system.

In order to familiarize the NHS Scotland users with its services, MD Consult conducted several training sessions in Scotland and produced various marketing materials specifically for the more than 135,000 NHS users.

"Our relationship with NHS Education for Scotland allows MD Consult to extend its reach to a significant community of physicians, nurses, students and NHS 24 staff, who work for the NHS in Scotland, providing them with a 24/7 clinical problem-solving tool," said Tom Hewitt, MD Consult's Vice President, International Electronic Sales.

NHS 24 is a modern, distinctive telephone service, which aims to give people across Scotland equal access to health advice, information and help, at any time, day or night. More information is available at http://www.nhs24.com/index_aboutus.html.

"Linking the two services is a natural fit," said Dr. Ann Wales, NHS Scotland Library Service Development Coordinator of NHS Education for Scotland. "We try to provide a comprehensive, integrated range of information services to physicians and other healthcare staff to make their jobs and lives easier. MD Consult is a valuable resource that we are excited to offer to our current healthcare providers, keeping them better informed and up-to-date in the latest medical news and research."

Pending a successful pilot and tender process the program may be extended through 2006.

About MD Consult

MD Consult is a well-respected source of clinical information within the medical community, helping physicians answer clinical questions and stay abreast of recent developments online. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, MD Consult is a part of world-leading health science publisher, Elsevier.

The MD Consult Clinical Knowledge System offers an integrated family of online medical information services, which may be used stand-alone or in combination with each other. Its flagship service, MD Consult Core Collection, was introduced in 1997 and is accessed today by more than 285,000 health professionals under paid subscription plans. Over 1,000 health care organizations and more than 90 percent of the North American medical schools license the service. Each month subscribers conduct more than 1.5 million information searches using the service, primarily during daytime practice hours.

MD Consult also offers specialty-focused services including: MD Consult Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, MD Consult Infectious Disease, and MD Consult Pain Medicine. All services deliver single point, integrated access to trusted medical content including: leading reference books, full-text articles from influential medical journals, MEDLINE and other databases, peer-reviewed clinical practice guidelines, a comprehensive drug database, customizable patient education handouts, clinical trials databases, continuing medical education materials, and a suite of features which identify and report on current developments in medicine.

Physicians or organizations can preview services and register for a free trial at www.mdconsult.com, or call 1-800-401-9962 for more information.

About NHS Education for Scotland

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) was established as a Special Health Board on 1st April 2002. The new body will build on the work of the National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for Scotland (NBS), the Post qualification Education Board for Health Service Pharmacists (PQEB) and the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (SCPMDE), in extending its activities to cover all staff groups.

The new expanded NHS Scotland e-Library provides access to over 4000 full-text electronic journals, over 20 major databases, 200 electronic textbooks and over 1500 free quality health information websites. It now caters for the work, research, education and personal development needs of the full range of NHS staff. A single username and password, available via online registration, provides access to these resources.