November 2023 – BMJ, a global healthcare knowledge provider, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded two contracts as part of the National Core Content collection for the NHS in England. 

National Core Content (NCC) is a suite of essential digital knowledge resources that support patient care, service improvement, research and personal development for the NHS workforce in England. NCC is procured by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by the Workforce, Training and Education Directorate of NHS England.

Under this new three-year framework agreement, BMJ will continue to offer all NHS staff and learners in England access to the clinical decision support tool, BMJ Best Practice and BMJ Journals speciality titles, including The BMJ, reinforcing the commitment to evidence-based healthcare.

BMJ, NHS England and NICE share the same mission to empower all NHS health professionals to develop and promote better evidence, better decisions and better systems to improve health outcomes. Access to the latest evidence-based information is essential for healthcare professionals to make informed clinical decisions that positively impact patient care.

Given the sheer volume of new health information and the time constraints faced by healthcare teams, NHS England is providing BMJ Best Practice as a practical tool to support healthcare professionals. This collaboration will equip NHS health professionals in both primary and secondary care with an evidence-based point of care tool to address the evolving and increasingly complex needs of patients.

BMJ Best Practice provides fast access to the latest clinical information from over 30 specialty areas, providing step by step guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention.

BMJ Best Practice is the only point of care tool that supports the management of the whole patient by including guidance on the treatment of a patient’s acute condition alongside their pre-existing comorbidities.

Ranked one of the best clinical decision support tools for health professionals worldwide,1 BMJ Best Practice provides step-by-step guidance on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Evidence shows that integrating BMJ Best Practice into Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems is a highly effective way of improving patient care, with a recent study highlighting the enhanced diagnostic accuracy of clinicians when utilising clinical decision support systems integrated with BMJ Best Practice.2 BMJ recently witnessed a 99.5% surge in BMJ Best Practice sessions with electronic health record (EHR) integration.3 

Louise Crowe, Director of BMJ Knowledge, stressed the organisation’s commitment to being patient-centred and customer-focused. She said, “We are thrilled to continue our strong partnership with NHS England, and to see the positive impact BMJ Best Practice has on the daily practice of healthcare professionals across England. BMJ Best Practice not only supports busy clinicians at the point of care but plays a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and achieving our vision of a healthier world.”

As part of this agreement, the NHS in England will have full online access to 30 premium journals from BMJ, including the renowned The BMJ, and leading journals in various medical specialties such as Heart, Gut, and Thorax. These research journals form the foundation of the medical evidence base and play a crucial role in shaping healthcare practices and guidelines.

Users will benefit from not only original research content but also research reviews that summarise findings from numerous research articles on specific topics. Additionally, educational content for trainers and students, along with personal commentaries from clinical and research leaders on important topics, are available. 

Allison Lang, Publishing Director at BMJ, emphasised the organisation’s commitment to supporting the NHS. She stated, “BMJ is a strong advocate of the NHS, so we are delighted to be working with NHS England to help ensure that frontline staff have the right support to improve patient outcomes. Our BMJ journals portfolio includes some of the most influential titles in their fields, providing the latest and most relevant research.”

All NHS staff and learners in England can access BMJ Best Practice, The BMJ, BMJ Standard Online Collection, BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health and BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care for free, funded by NHS England Workforce, Training and Education directorate. For further information on the BMJ and NHS England partnership or EHR integration please visit bmj.com/nhse or contact support@bmj.com

About BMJ

BMJ is a global healthcare knowledge provider with a vision for a healthier world. The values-driven organisation shares knowledge and expertise to improve health outcomes. As a producer of clinical decision support tools, educational resources, events, and careers services, and publisher of 65 medical, scientific and allied health journals, BMJ empowers health professionals to make better evidence-based decisions and improve patient outcomes.

About NHS England

NHS England leads the NHS to deliver high quality services for all. The Workforce, Training and Education (NHSE WT&E) directorate ensures that the NHS in England has a sufficient and inclusive workforce with the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver compassionate high-quality health and care to the people it serves.

NHSE WT&E has a system-wide leadership role in relation to healthcare knowledge and library services. ‘Knowledge for Healthcare: mobilising knowledge, sharing knowledge, improving outcomes’ sets out the strategic framework for NHS knowledge and library services 2021-2026.

About NICE Evidence Services

NICE is at the forefront of bringing better care to people. Our core purpose is to help practitioners and commissioners get the best care to patients, fast, while ensuring value for the taxpayer. 

NICE does this by producing useful and usable guidance for health and care practitioners. Providing rigorous, independent assessment of complex evidence for new health technologies. Developing recommendations that focus on what matters most and drive innovation into the hands of health and care practitioners encouraging the uptake of best practice to improve outcomes for everyone. Find out more by visiting: https://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do

About the NICE electronic and print content framework agreement. 

Eligible purchasers can access all details about how to buy electronic and print content from the NICE “Buy books, journals and databases” webpage at: https://www.nice.org.uk/about/nice-communities/library-and-knowledge-services-staff/buy-books-journals-and-databases

  1. Kwag KH, et al, Providing Doctors With High-Quality Information: An Updated Evaluation of Web-Based Point-of-Care Information Summaries, J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e15 doi: 10.2196/jmir.5234, https://www.jmir.org/2016/1/e15/  
  2.  Tao, L., Zhang, C., Zeng, L. et al, 2020. Accuracy and effects of clinical decision support systems integrated with BMJ best practice–aided diagnosis: interrupted time series study. JMIR medical informatics, 8(1)
  3.   99.5% surge in BMJ Best Practice sessions with electronic health record (EHR) integration: Q1 2023 vs same period in 2022