Help & Provenance
The Map of Medicine is an online clinical knowledge resource, designed and developed by health care professionals for health care professionals, to provide specialist-level information to the right person at the right time.
The Map of Medicine provides 24/7 access to evidence-based clinical pathways, grouped into broad areas of clinical practice, via an intuitive web-based interface.
The Map of Medicine provides:
Access to specialist level knowledge, available every day, all day - 24/7/365 - through an easy to use, intuitive graphical interface
Clinical effectiveness, by facilitating local implementation of clinical guidelines and care pathways
Current evidence-based knowledge, assured through quarterly updates
Information tracking made easy, by means of fully printable pathways, Local Admin Info Local administrative information added to the Map of Medicine to deliver non-clinical details of value to users of a local view., personal notes, and standardised referral templates.
Teaching, learning, and ongoing professional development for health care professionals at every level
Integrity of content and quality of application functionality that is assured by robust clinical review and critique at every level, as well as via easy-to-use feedback Comments sent to designated local reviewers or to the Map of Medicine with regard to usability and/or content. links found on every page see pathway page.
The Map of Medicine employs a robust content development process, involving a large team of professionals, including doctors, nurses, scientists, evidologists, editors, clinicians (who provide reviews and critiques), production staff, NHS advisors, and others.
Each pathway A higher level topic describing a patient journey, eg: breast cancer, falls in the elderly. is considered from multiple perspectives: clinical (generalist and specialist), international research evidence, national and international guidance (NICE, SIGN, ICSI, Royal College guidelines, AHRQ, Cochrane, etc.)
Our rigorous process and unique software platform presents clinical knowledge in a logical and clinically relevant format, which is regularly updated.
The content is not specific to or restricted to one type of clinical professional over another, rather it represents the care journey a patient should take. It emphasizes the doctor-patient relationship, but is not restricted to it, eg. multi-disciplinary teams are represented where appropriate (see the Breast cancer pathway, for example)
Additional multi-professional content may be added during the content Localisation process by a local or regional health care body.
All content on the Map of Medicine is reviewed by clinicians at least annually. Where important guidance or evidence is published before the annual review is due, a further review is considered. We update all pathways as soon as is possible on publication of new NICE and SIGN guidance and receive regular feeds from over 250 reference sources to guide further updating where necessary. In addition, user feedback is considered as received. New and updated content is released to end-users on a quarterly basis.
Your local Health Care community is alerted whenever changes are made to content, allowing you to review your local practice, as well as update your Localised content, if applicable.
By accessing the New & Updated page, you can review recent changes to content.
To review updates to pathways or pages, select the Last updated link(s) that apply to the content you want to review.
For specific validity information, each page has date information displayed in near the bottom of the page that indicates the status of that page, including information about its review cycle.
When patient health is at risk, e.g. when a drug is withdrawn, the Map of Medicine can be updated within forty-eight hours. Critical updates will always be given urgent attention.
If you disagree with a pathway because you have concerns about its quality or content in it, please select the Give feedback button or feedback link available on every page. Send your comments, each of which will be reviewed and replied to by qualified feedback reviewers. Comments become part of the six-monthly update process, and may be incorporated into updates of the Map's content.
If you disagree with a pathway because clinical practice at your Health Care facility or in your region differs from that outlined, you can Localise (customise) the content to reflect your local practice.
The Map of Medicine is designed to be Localised on three levels:
Administrative Content Localisation: Adding any pertinent administrative information to the Map pathways and nodes, such as local clinic times or local support group contacts. This information is also viewable by all persons with permissions to view your local View of the Map of Medicine.
Personal Notes: Anyone with the rights to use the Map of Medicine is able to add notes which are seen only by that person's log in, allowing customisation at a personal level.
Clinical Content Localisation: Altering the basic structure of the pathway and the clinical content therein. For example, adding nodes and additional text that indicate a deviation from the national standard (that complies with local protocols and resources). This information is viewable by all users with permissions to view your local View of the Map of Medicine.
If you are interested in Localisation, please contact your local service provider for more information.