UpToDate Announces Pocket PC Handheld Access to Clinical Information Resource for Physicians; Doctors now have a current, comprehensive medical knowledge at their fingertips.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

WELLESLEY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2003

UpToDate, publisher of a point of care information resource for physicians, today announced the availability of its comprehensive and current service on Pocket PC handhelds. With UpToDate physicians can quickly look up the latest medical information to find answers to questions that arise during patient care without having to leave their patient's bedside. UpToDate on a Pocket PC gives physicians 50,000 pages of current medical knowledge, across all of general internal medicine and 12 medical sub-specialties, in an easily searchable handheld format.

"Studies have shown that up to 70 percent of questions that arise at the point of care go unanswered primarily because clinicians lack immediate access to information resources," said Dr. Burton D. Rose, founder and editor-in-chief of UpToDate and clinical professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School. "UpToDate for the Pocket PC breaks down the final barriers to answering questions at the point of care. Physicians can now carry with them an entire library of medical knowledge and find answers to their questions in just minutes."

Pocket PC access is available to physicians as part of an individual UpToDate subscription, which also includes online and CD-ROM access. UpToDate offers physicians access to more than 6,000 topics, 160,000 Medline abstracts, 15,000 pictures, tables and graphics, as well as a complete drug information database. The service is currently used by tens of thousands of physicians in 110 countries around the world to help answer questions at the point of care.

One physician who has been using UpToDate for the Pocket PC is Terry Rosborough, M.D., director of medical education and research at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Rosborough heads a Pocket PC user group that includes 80 residents and faculty in internal medicine.

"Clinical questions arise constantly throughout our day," said Dr. Rosborough. "Few physicians write all of these questions down and look them up later. Until recently, this meant that most physicians often made educated guesses." Dr. Rosborough explains that with the availability of UpToDate on a Pocket PC both he and his residents are looking up answers to more questions than ever before. "I think medicine will be strongly altered for the good with UpToDate available for physicians' hips and pockets as well as on their desktops," he said.

A list of supported devices and required hardware can be found on the UpToDate website at http://www.uptodate.com/service/requirements.asp. Current UpToDate subscribers can find more information on how to include Pocket PC access into their subscription at http://www.uptodate.com/subscribers/index.asp

About UpToDate

UpToDate was founded in 1992 by Burton D. Rose, M.D. and Joseph Rush, M.D. Dr. Rose, a leading author of textbooks for physicians and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, was concerned by how quickly the information in books becomes outdated. Together with Dr. Rush, a medical doctor and systems designer, he developed the UpToDate service to provide physicians with continuously updated, expert answers to questions that arise when treating patients.

Today, UpToDate's physician editors collaborate with over 3,000 expert physician authors from leading medical institutions around the world to review over 290 medical journals every month. When an important medical study is published, UpToDate editors and authors update the relevant topic reviews in the UpToDate service. In addition, multiple experts review all UpToDate topic reviews so physicians can rely on their currency and accuracy.

Recognizing the high quality and value of UpToDate information, UpToDate has been selected as an official educational program by seven leading medical societies in the United States. The company accepts no advertising or sponsorships, a policy that helps to ensure that UpToDate's content remains unbiased by any commercial interests. For more information or to subscribe to UpToDate visit them on the web at www.uptodate.com.