Infectious diseases in the British Columbian population during 2022 have posed major challenges to the health system. Keeping abreast of emerging and persistent infectious diseases is crucial, and the following may be helpful information tools.

DynaMed, available through the College Library, classifies point-of-care information by specialty. Browse the infectious diseases section (or search by keyword) for a wide scope of subtopics, such as hemorrhagic fevers and fungal, prion, and viral infections.

Similarly, BMJ Best Practice displays evidence-based guidance in over 550 infectious diseases modules in a list for browsing; it is also keyword searchable. Comorbidities can be flagged to focus content on that most relevant to your patient’s concurrent health conditions.

Both Best Practice and DynaMed are available online via www.cpsbc.ca/registrants/library/point-care-tools [10] or as apps at www.cpsbc.ca/registrants/library/mobile-apps [11].

Current books on infectious diseases are an important part of the College Library’s collection. Library users can search the catalogue (https://szasz.catalogue.libraries.coop [12]) and view such communicable diseases e-books as:

• Review of Medical Microbiology and Immunology: A Guide to Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2022
• Cardiovascular Complications of COVID-19: Risk, Pathogenesis and Outcomes, 2022
• Atlas of Dermatology, Dermatopathology and Venereology: Cutaneous Infectious and Neoplastic Conditions and Procedural Dermatology, 2021
• Highly Infectious Diseases in Critical Care: A Comprehensive Clinical Guide, 2020
• Hunter’s Tropical Medicine and Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2020

Valuable sources of infectious diseases clinical guidance and epidemiology are available from the BC Centre for Disease Control (www.bccdc.ca [13]) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (www.canada.ca/en/public-health.html [14]). Also, the CMA Joule CPG Infobase (https://joulecma.ca/cpg [15]), a directory of Canadian clinical guidelines, lists over 550 guidelines on infectious diseases published in the last 5 years.
—Karen MacDonell
Director, Library Services

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This article is the opinion of the Library of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and has not been peer reviewed by the BCMJ Editorial Board.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License [16].