São Paulo’s Sírio-Libanês Hospital improves patient care with mobile clinical decision support

Wolters Kluwer, a leading global provider of information and point of care solutions for the healthcare industry, announced today that at the Sírio-Libanês Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, nearly 4,000 physicians stay current with the best clinical practices, onsite and remotely, by using UpToDate®, the mobile-enabled clinical decision support resource used by over 1 million clinicians worldwide. Clinicians at Sírio-Libanês Hospital view a monthly average of more than 2,500 UpToDate topics, particularly in the areas of oncology, cardiology and neurology.

Denise Basow, MD, President & CEO, Clinical Effectiveness, Wolters Kluwer Health, commented, “We share a common vision with Sírio-Libanês Hospital to apply the best knowledge, derived from research, clinical experience and patient preferences, to achieve the best outcomes for patient care.” Dr. Basow adds, “The innovative role of Sírio-Libanês Hospital in Brazilian healthcare is validated by an increasing number of hospitals around the country adopting UpToDate as a key resource to improve clinical decisions.”

Sírio-Libanês Hospital is recognized for its history of excellence and leadership, as well as its pioneering role in healthcare and medical research in Brazil. The hospital cares for more than 120,000 patients annually at its 100,000 m² complex in São Paulo's Bela Vista district and three additional locations: a diagnostic center and ambulatory hospital in Itaim Bibi; a multidisciplinary clinic in Jardins; and an oncology center in Brasília.

One of the main objectives behind the hospital's decision to select UpToDate Anywhere was to leverage mobile devices to support the continuous medical education of its clinical staff while enhancing the quality of patient care. The UpToDate app allows easy access via a mobile device (smartphone or tablet) to over 10,500 clinical topics, whether the clinician is in an exam room with a patient, in an office, at an off-site clinic, or at home. The clinical decision support tool has improved patient safety at Sírio-Libanês Hospital and increased efficiencies in diagnosis and treatment.

According to Dr. Luiz Francisco Cardoso, Director of Inpatient Medicine at Sírio-Libanês Hospital, “Since UpToDate is a clinical decision support system created by physicians and based on evidence, both the online version which we have used since 2010 and the recently deployed mobile version are extremely useful in the daily routine of the institution's professionals.”

Dr. Cardoso adds, “UpToDate enables the clinical staff to stay abreast of the best clinical practices. At any time, UpToDate can provide answers to questions on patient treatment and diagnosis, making a direct positive impact on patient safety and the efficiency of care.”

UpToDate was originally implemented at Sírio-Libanês Hospital in 2010 and usage has grown every year. Initially, UpToDate was only accessible through the intranet of the hospital's scientific research area via onsite computers. In November of 2014, with the deployment of UpToDate Anywhere, access became available through any computer or mobile device, on-site or off-site.

“UpToDate Anywhere represents a key advantage in our ability to obtain better results in improving our clinical staff and in boosting the quality of care and patient safety. UpToDate supports our constant goal of providing more and better care. We were very encouraged when we first learned we could support our employees not only outside of the hospital, but also with access on their mobile devices,” says Dr. Cardoso. He adds that “the options for patient consultations are much more flexible now—anytime and anywhere that is convenient for patients and physicians.”

Dr. Maria Beatriz Souza Dias, an infectious disease specialist and head of the hospital's infection control commission, adds, “I first became familiar with UpToDate shortly after its launch in a course at Harvard Medical School. Since then, I use the resource daily to answer diagnostic and treatment questions, research medications, verify drug interactions and to share patient information topics to my patients who speak English. I have also recommended UpToDate to many colleagues and to the hospitals where I work, which, fortunately, have adopted it.”

For physicians at Sírio-Libanês Hospital, UpToDate has become an essential resource for empowering them to make the best decisions at the point of care.

Dr. José Luiz Alvim Borges, a coloproctologist and researcher at the Instituto Sírio-Libanês de Ensino e Pesquisa, the hospital's teaching and research institute, says the ability to research clinical questions using a mobile device makes UpToDate comparable to a modern, more sophisticated version of the old pocket guides used by doctors, but with more comprehensive, reliable and evidence-based content.

He adds, “The exponential growth of medical knowledge, which we've witnessed in the last two decades, has made it difficult for doctors—even specialists—to possess always-current information about classifications of disease. UpToDate is a trustworthy tool that addresses that challenge. It is a great help in informing decisions that need to be made quickly. By itself, it also serves as a platform to deepen knowledge in a range of medical topics while providing a starting point for more extensive literature research.”