It is really sad that the access to Uptodate through proxy server is no more available. Uptodate is a premier resource for every physician and lots of time we need to review material for challenging patients even when away from hospital to help us serve patients better. I was really proud of VCU to have provided this service earlier and be among the best in the league. We want this service to be resotred for the overall benefit of patients with the latest and most desirable approach in the field.
From: a staff member

Lynne Turman, Head of TML Collections, responds....
Dr. Puri --

Thank you for contacting us with your comments about UpToDate. This resource is provided by the VCU Health System rather than the University or VCU Libraries. Remote access was offered as a part of the service during the initial years of the contract but with the recent renewal of the subscription, access is limited to on-site computers at the MCV Hospitals and University. This has become commonplace among academic health centers that subscribe to UpToDate.

VCU Libraries offers several other products that should prove to be good alternates for off-campus use:
--- FirstConsult is a clinical point-of-care system similar to UpToDate. It has information on medical conditions and treatment, drug information, patient handouts and can be downloaded to a PDA. For more details, check our announcement about FirstConsult.
--- MDConsult and StatRef contain full-text versions of medical, dental and nursing textbooks that are searchable by keyword or topic. Titles include Cecil’s Textbook of Medicine, Conn’s Current Therapy, Griffith’s 5-Minute Consult, Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine and many others.
--- For drug information, try searching in Mosby's Drug Consult, a part of MDConsult. Also, StatRef has the full-text of several drug reference tools. Another source is Epocrates. You have to register first in order to use their free online drug reference tool.

If you need assistance with any of these resources or would like to discuss other options, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 804-828-0638 or luturman@vcu.edu. We strive to provide you with the most appropriate databases and collections for your information needs and are always open to suggestions for new products.