A smorgasbord of guidelines

eTG complete.

Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines, 2002 (CD-ROM: Subscription $220).

The various Guidelines have been distributed as pocket-sized books and, more recently, as individual electronic versions. This CD-ROM is the next step: integrating a series of Guidelines into one electronic product, with a master index. Subscribers are offered updates three to four times a year. The versions which are used are noted (eg, Analgesic version 3, Antibiotic version 11), but the search capability gives access across all guidelines.

The disc is easy to load, and appears on the desktop as an icon. Search characteristics are clear, reasonably intuitive and speedy, meaning that use in a GP consultation is at least as quick as looking up one of the paper-based guides. It is also better, as searches access information from more than one guideline. A search for pregnancy and depression, for example, yields information from the Neurology, Respiratory and Psychotropic Guidelines, all of which have relevant sections. The advice includes non-pharmacological information. It is also printable, to provide a basis for discussion with patients.

My room has lots of books, but I find that I get up from my desk to find them less often than I used to because of desktop resources like this one. If a tool is easy to use, I am more likely to use it, rather than rely on memory, particularly for uncommon things. But the cost is high — for our five-doctor practice the cost of eTG is $220 for the first user and $110 for each subsequent user, compared with $264 for one set of the books — which we can all share. Whether the convenience is worth the cost is a question we will wrestle with.

Linda MannGeneral Practitioner Leichhardt, NSW