the knowledge platform

uptodate access: institutional login, mobile continuity, and common failure points

why access breaks: institutional vs personal accounts, app continuity, and how to avoid login loops when you’re on shift.

The Bottom Line

  • Most access issues come from mixing login routes (institutional vs personal) across web and mobile.
  • Set up your access once when you’re calm — not mid-shift.
  • If your organisation provides access, use the organisation pathway as the ‘source of truth’.
UpToDate is most useful when it is frictionless. The fix is usually not technical — it’s understanding what identity route your organisation uses, and ensuring your mobile workflow matches it.
1

Step 1 — Identify your access route

Is access provided by your employer/training body, or are you using a personal subscription? Decide which is primary.
2

Step 2 — Align web and app logins

Use the same route across devices. If you authenticate institutionally on web, don’t try a different method on mobile.
3

Step 3 — Fix the common loop

If you’re repeatedly asked to authenticate, you may be hitting the wrong entry point for your access type (institution vs personal).
4

Step 4 — Test during ‘low stakes’ time

Confirm the full flow works (web + mobile) before you need it in a clinical context.
SourceWolters Kluwer: UpToDate overview
Open Link

Official Sources

Wolters Kluwer — UpToDate overview