Tackling the infodemic: Part 1

Knowledge expansion has evolved at an extraordinary pace with an unprecedented explosion of data globally in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – and which is not always reliable – causing confusion, uncertainty, and mistrust.

The need for ‘Indianisation’

The way in which clinicians in India access information is complex and multi-dimensional: the information they need is varied and not tailored to national let alone regional healthcare issues. And with the explosion of information, physicians in their early years, struggle to keep abreast of what is relevant to their patients.

Dr Arun Khemariya, Content Strategy, Health Technology, Clinical Solutions, Elsevier, highlights the dangers, ‘A disease may remain the same, the problem may remain the same, but the solution is different because of the demographics, economic conditions, social conditions and so on. What is applicable in America might not be applicable in India because of 100 different scenarios. And within India there are certain diseases which have more prevalence than in other parts of the country.’

A disease may remain the same, the problem may remain the same, but the solution is different because of the demographics, economic conditions, social conditions and so on

Dr Arun Khemariya, Content Strategy, Health Technology, Clinical Solutions, Elsevier

The need for new approaches

How can clinicians in India ensure their knowledge is relevant and applicable to patients, and consistent in quality whether they are practising in a city or rurally?

Elsevier has developed ClinicaKey Now support physicians tackle the infodemic situation. ClinicaKey Now is a decision support tool with clinical algorithms to help physicians quickly and intuitively navigate information to find the answers they need and discover what to do, based on concise and expert recommendations. It is curated by an editorial board consisting of physicians in India – all specialists in their fields – and peer reviewed from within each speciality.

Designed as a mobile-first product and desktop optimised, ClinicalKey Now is convenient and easy to use even when offline.

Dr. Chuang states, ‘The reality is that COVID-19 is not likely to disappear anytime soon, and new education, learning and training approaches are necessary.’ He proposes that, ‘If knowledge is evolving at a rate never seen before, we must pioneer solutions for clinicians that have never been seen before.’

ClinicalKey Now is that solution.