UpToDate User Academy: Clinical Tools

There are multiple ways to find and use graphics in UpToDate.

Graphics can be accessed from the search results screen. Use the links at the top of page to filter graphics that are related to your search term.

Upon accessing a graphic, notice the arrows on either side of the window. Click the arrows to conveniently scroll through related graphics. Graphics can be bookmarked, printed, shared, and exported to PowerPoint. In PowerPoint, the graphics are fully referenced and copyrights have been preserved.

A list of topics in which the graphic appears is available on the right. Clicking the topic name brings you into the topic, where the graphic you just viewed is referenced.

It is also common to access graphics directly within topics. For a quick peek at a graphic, hover over the graphic link to reveal a thumbnail that includes the graphic title. Click it to reveal the full graphic. Using the graphics viewer, you can see and scroll through all graphics available in a topic.

In the search results page, look for any of the graphic icons. Hover over the link to see a thumbnail, or click directly into the graphic. If usage data and input from our expert physician editors suggest that a graphic or graphics are likely what you are looking for, they will appear at the top of the search results page, above the topic results.

Graphics can also be found in the graphics gallery. At the top of a topic, select the “Graphics” tab for a convenient, one-stop view of all relevant graphics - including algorithms, tables, charts, and pictures. The graphics gallery is accessible on desktop and mobile devices.

Calculators can be found in the blue clinical tool bar. They are indexed by specialty, or can be listed alphabetically. Calculators are also linked to throughout UpToDate clinical topics.

Users can access patient education topics in the following ways:

When viewing search results in UpToDate, in the left-hand navigation, click on Patient to prioritize patient education topics to the top of the search results list.

Find Patient Education in the top left “Contents” dropdown.

When viewing a topic, click Patient Education in the outline on the left of the screen to go directly to the Patient Education section.

Note: The Patient tool is available only in professional-level topics for which there is related patient education information.

To keep abreast of some of the most important updates by specialty, click on What's New. UpToDate editors hand select key content updates and share them here for a quick reference.

Scroll through the list and choose a specialty to review “What's New” updates from the last six months. 

Notice the topic outline on the left. The information is arranged alphabetically by sub-topic. The content is in paragraph format and displays a summary of the update.  

To see this update in context, click on the link to the full topic. If there is a topic that you bookmarked that has recently changed, an orange bullet will be displayed next to the topic title. 

To view updates that may have an immediate impact on clinical practice, click on Practice Changing Updates  from the Contents menu.

Notice the topic outline on the left. Information within Practice Changing Updates is arranged with the most recent update on top. The content is in paragraph format. This is a summary of the update.

To see this update in context, click on the link to the full topic.