Dynamed Plus and UpToDate are clinical reference tools that health care professionals use to answer their clinical questions. Both tools synthesize information based on published clinical evidence. Content is written by physicians and researchers and is meant to be used at the point-of-care.  Read below to learn about the special features of both of these resources.

Dynamed Plus

Dynamed Plus contains topics that include summaries and detailed recommendations for over 3,000 conditions. Content is arranged in bulleted lists making it easy to quickly scan for pertinent information. The evidence included in DynaMed Plus is categorized based on recommendation grading systems that are defined in the Reference area of each topic. In addition to clinical ‘topics’, Dynamed Plus contains drug information and a number of calculators.

Penn Libraries’ subscription to Dynamed Plus allows all current Penn faculty, staff, and students access from anywhere, on- or off-campus.  A mobile app is also available.  Instructions to set-up an account and install the software are available on our Mobile App page.

UpToDate

UpToDate contains over 11,000 clinical topics covering 25 specialties. Information is presented in paragraph form and, like Dynamed, is grouped in general sections. According to their website, “almost 90% of academic medical centers in the US rely on UpToDate to provide the best care.”  The GRADE system is used to rate recommendations provided.  You can view GRADE information in the “Summary and Recommendations” section of each topic.  In addition to the clinical topics, UpToDate includes medical calculators, current drug interaction information, and patient education handouts.

UpToDate is purchased by PennMedicine. Access is restricted to UPHS buildings. Current Penn faculty, staff, and students can access using the public computers in the Biomedical Library.

We would like to hear your feedback on your use of these two resources! Please contact Barbara Cavanaugh at bbc@upenn.edu with any input or user stories.