Medinfo is a German medical library blog by Oliver Obst that focuses on issues of interest in medical libraries in Germany.

Today I noticed Obst provided a "rough translation" about UpToDate's prohibitive pricing structure in Germany. "Rigid holding to US price models interrupts the desirable spreading process of campus licenses in Germany." As a result hospital libraries are now looking at FIRSTConsult, MD Consult, ClinicalResource@Ovid, and Clinical Evidence.

It would appear from Obst's post that UpToDate's foothold in Germany isn't as solid as it is in the United States. According to Obst, many of the department heads within his own hospital were not very interested in getting UpToDate for the costs, and he references an article which says interest was low among other UKM hospitals.

"Bei einer Umfrage unter den 30 betroffenen Kliniken des UKM waren nur wenige
dazu bereit, sich an der Finanzierung zu beteiligen"

Krafty's very rough translation: Out of 30 UKM hospitals very few were willing to participate in the financing (of UpToDate).

I think it would be interesting to see the results of Charite's assessment of FIRSTConsult, MD Consult, ClinicalResource@Ovid, and Clinical Evidence. How they compared to each other and UpToDate.

I think there are some physicians in the United States that have such a blind devotion to UpToDate because it was the first tool of its kind that they ever used, that they sometimes do not give other competing products a fair evaluation and trial.