The Bottom Line
- BMJ Best Practice is designed as a point-of-care decision-support tool structured around the clinical workflow.
- Use it for fast orientation, structured summaries, and ‘what to do next’ checklists — then corroborate with primary guidance where needed.
- If you’re in NHS England, access is commonly via OpenAthens with a personal profile + app login.
BMJ Best Practice is best treated as a ‘rapid clinical orientation layer’: it helps you get from question → structured summary quickly. Your speed comes from using it as intended: symptom or condition entry, then working down a structured evaluation and management pathway rather than reading long narrative text.
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Step 1 — Start with the exact question
Write a single sentence: “In this setting, what is my next safe step?” This prevents aimless browsing and forces clarity.
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Step 2 — Use symptom-first when diagnosis is unclear
If you’re early in the consultation, navigate via symptom evaluation structure (rather than jumping into a diagnosis page too early).
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Step 3 — Extract the ‘minimum safe plan’
Pull out only what you need now: red flags/escalation triggers, immediate tests, immediate treatments, and follow-up plan.
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Step 4 — Cross-check against local guidance
For UK practice, align any ‘next steps’ with local pathways and NICE/CKS-style wording where relevant.
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Step 5 — Save time with a personal profile
Set up your account/profile so mobile access is seamless; use it for on-shift retrieval rather than re-authentication loops.
Practice
Test your knowledge
Apply this concept immediately with a high-yield question block from the iatroX Q-Bank.
SourceBMJ: BMJ Best Practice (product overview)
Open Link SourceBMJ Group: NHS England access (OpenAthens + app flow)
Open Link