What's up, doc?

Doctors and other health professionals want mobile access to clinical information for one simple but overwhelming reason: so they can avoid making fatal mistakes on the wards. As a result, some medical librarians have already joined clinicians on their ward rounds, and most are now playing an active part in developing evidence-based medicine resources. But librarians are driving evidence-based medicine (EBM) against a backdrop of uncertainty. The much criticised NHS IT infrastructure development is still years away from completion. And with content providers bringing to market systems that are often very much under development, access to resources at the bedside is still neither quick nor easy - yet. In an ideal world, evidence-based medicine would be delivered at the point of care. That ideal world is some way off. According to the EPS report, Evidence-based Medical Practice in the 21st Century, the move to electronic health records (EHRs) will drive the adoption of evidence-based medicine. EHRs are expected to be in place by 2010, but many hospitals have little if any wireless access.