What is the probability that a patient with a sore throat has strep? How about the likelihood of DVT in a patient with leg symptoms? What is the prognosis for patients with melanoma, pneumonia, or breat cancer? Covering a full range of topics from cardiovascular and pulmonary disease to ophthalmology, hematology and pediatrics, EVIDENCE-BASED DIAGNOSIS is the only single volume, quick reference designed for use in daily practice. Containing over 150 clinical prediction rules as well as need-to-know background information on each rule to determine its validity and relevance for your practice, these rules are essential for every physician in a time of limited health care resources. Designed as an aid in diagnosis and treatment, clinical prediction rules will allow you to make more accurate diagnosis and treatment decisions while eliminating superfluous testing. As an added bonus, a CD-ROM with software designed by the author is included with this volume. The software is designed to allow you to calculate clinical prediction rules with the ease and convenience of the computer. Simply check the boxes, click enter and receive the probabilities. Mark H. Ebell, M.D., M.S. is Associate Professor in the Department of Family Practice at Michigan State University. He is editor of the "Journal of Family Practice" and coeditor of the "Evidence-Based Practice" newsletter, and is the author of over 80 peer-reviewed publications.

Handheld Computers in Medicine is an essential volume of information needed for all physicians, especially those in the primary care specialties. It is in the tradition of Mark Ebell's recent successful Springer book and CD-ROM, Evidence-Based Diagnosis: Handbook of Clinical Prediction Rules. (This enables the clinician to make an automatic calculation of risk assessment based on the patient's presenting symptoms, which are fed into the program. By working with the CD-ROM, a risk calculation can be made in seconds, all within the time period of a standard office visit.) Ebell is a renowned family physician and educator who has devoted his career to assessing and processing clinical information, which is to be used in making an accurate diagnosis and prescribing the correct therapeutics in the shortest time period. If this is to be done correctly, the physician must be able to implement a variety of electronic information bases effectively, and during the time period of a standard office visit. Nothing accomplishes this goal as efficiently as handheld PCs and Palm Pilots. This allows the physician to engage the patient, take a case history, perform a physical examination, access patient records, complete the diagnosis and prescribe the necessary therapeutics and process the bill coding, all without leaving the patient's side. Depending on the physician's degree of 'tech-savvy' skills, this can be an exhausting and intimidating process. It can be especially complicated to convert an entire office practice, then conform to a particular healthcare organization's plan of operation. Ebell's book and CD-ROM set operates as a concise guide to enable any physician and healthcare professional to implement the use of handheld computers into their practice. It is important to note that the spirit of this publication's goal is to eliminate error and thus raise the level of quality in all aspects of patient care.

"Perhaps more remarkable is how much hasn't changed in the past quarter century. The patient-centered encounter remains the backbone of effective care, whether in the office, on the telephone or online. In these encounters, attentiveness to the interaction between biological, socioeconomic, and psychological factors is as crucial and relevant as ever. Family medicine residency programs continue to provide excellent preparation for physicians interested in caring for individuals of all ages and their families within a broad range of practice settings, styles, and populations. Primary medical care continues to be recognized as the cornerstone of an effective health care system, although integration of primary care into the broader US system remains far from ideal"--Provided by publisher.