UpToDate Patient Engagement Editorial Policy
I. Harmonization with UpToDate Medical Topics
The goal of UpToDate® Patient Engagement is to provide information for patients that is more harmonized, or aligned, with the clinician-facing content in UpToDate, so that patients receive one consistent message.
UpToDate Patient Engagement:
- Provides clinicians with trustworthy information to share with patients and their families or caregivers.
- Provides content that is accessible to patients or caregivers with limited health literacy.
- Facilitates shared decision-making and empowers patients to take an active role in their healthcare journey.
II. Types of UpToDate Patient Engagement content
UpToDate content for patients includes:
- Health education leaflets on common diseases, tests, and procedures, including discharge instructions for after a hospital admission, surgery, or Emergency Department visit (“Health Education Leaflets”).
- Multimedia content (collectively, "Multimedia Content"):
- Short videos that cover a condition, procedure, or anatomy.
- Interactive videos that provide patients with an in-depth explanation of a condition or procedure and enable patients to take notes and interact with the content of the video.
- Medication education leaflets that provide generalized, patient-oriented summary information in an easy-to-read format (“Medication Leaflets”).
III. Content development and review process
UpToDate Patient Engagement content is created in-house by a team of clinical specialists and writers with extensive knowledge of health literacy and plain language principles. We may seek additional input from other expert reviewers when developing new content.
Health Education Leaflets: Whenever possible, the editorial team uses UpToDate medical topics as the primary source to promote consistency across all content. Other resources may also be consulted; examples include peer-reviewed journals, health information from government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), and clinical guidelines published by national organizations.
Multimedia Content: Similar to the Health Education Leaflets, the editorial team references UpToDate medical topics in content development. Production artists and medical artists create illustrations and animations to supplement and support the text. As much as possible, the content is developed in cooperation with actual patients. Our work with patients helps to create content that is easy to understand, speaks to patients in a personal and empathetic manner, reflects the patient experience, and addresses common questions and concerns.
Medication Education Leaflets: Medication leaflets are created and reviewed by our clinical pharmacists and editors who specialize in patient education. Content is created and updated based on ongoing surveillance of manufacturer, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, and other country-specific websites to identify new or updated prescribing information. In addition, the team also monitors for safety alerts (eg, FDA MedWatch reports).
IV. Principles of patient engagement
Our content is tailored to achieve a conversational tone. As per the recommendation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), UpToDate Patient Engagement follows the Universal Precaution: to make complex information understandable and actionable for patients regardless of their education or background. We apply plain language principles in our writing and universal design to create our Multimedia Content. In addition, the use of inclusive language and images is of utmost importance to UpToDate. Our patient education team uses our internally developed “DE&I Content Guide” to ensure the use of inclusive language throughout our content.
Our content is made by people for people. Our content creators are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence, including large language models, to create or maintain UpToDate Patient Engagement content. This policy serves to promote the creation and maintenance of patient education that is easy to understand, provides ongoing guidance, facilitates better communication, and reflects clinical best practices.
V. Quality review and updating
The UpToDate Patient Engagement editorial team continuously reviews and maintains our content library. We regularly update content to reflect changes in medical practice, accessibility considerations, and patient and customer feedback when appropriate. We also add new content regularly to support customer needs.
Our content is made by people for people. Our content creators are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence, including large language models, to create or maintain UpToDate Patient Engagement content. This policy serves to promote the creation and maintenance of patient education that is easy to understand, provides ongoing guidance, facilitates better communication, and reflects clinical best practices.
This policy last reviewed on October 23, 2024.