Rachel M. Oleaga, MLS
Reference Librarian
Lawrence Campus Library
Northern Essex Community College

This is an update of a review I wrote for the June 2016 issue of Doody’s Collection Development Monthly. The original review can be found at http://dcdm.doody.com/2016/06/a-review-of-pediatric-care-online/

Description

Pediatric Care Online (PCO) is a subscription-based web portal containing peer-reviewed pediatric resources edited and maintained by the American Academy of Pediatrics. PCO is composed of several collections organized by function, including point-of-care quick references, well child resources, policy, pediatric drug lookup, and multimedia, along with full electronic access to the AAP Textbook of Pediatric Care and Red Book.

Content Updates

New and updated content is added to PCO on a regular basis and is featured on the main landing page. Notable updates to content areas include clinical reports, point-of-care quick reference pages, and AAP guidelines. A greater variety of multimedia content is now included in PCO, including an image gallery of common conditions and manifestations, and a video series of 13 of the most common Pediatric Procedural Skills as dictated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Educational webinars and presentations created by the American Academy of Pediatrics have been added to PCO. Each webinar explores a pressing topic or development in pediatric care/patients, and may provide useful information to clinicians as well as other medical support personnel in pediatric settings.

The newest edition of the Bright Futures Toolkit and updated chapters of Red Book Online (prepublication release) are included, and searchable by keyword.

Features/Functionality

Updates to the power search function allow for improved robust searching of all PCO content with keyword highlighted search results. Options for narrowing a search by content type or subject tags are available, and search results are organized by the resource from which they originate for ease of navigation.

The PCO portal can be used on most digital devices, and has a responsive design that adjusts for optimal viewing. There is a free app available for both Apple and Android devices, but a subscription login is required to access content. Internet access is also necessary in order to access Pediatric Care Online content.

PCO continues to highlight and include resources for patients and families in Pediatric Patient Education, which is integrated into the portal with printable information sheets and forms to provide to patients that are tagged with ICD-10-CM and CPT codes for EHR integration.

Business Model

There are three subscription options: individual, group practice, and institutional. An inquiry form at the site (http://solutions.aap.org/ss/Subscription_Information.aspx) can be used to determine the most practical type of subscription based on need, location, and use. Individual subscriptions can be purchased online at Shop AAP (https://shop.aap.org/), but group practice and institutional level subscriptions require contact with an AAP subscription agent.

Breakthrough

Pediatric Care Online continues to provide a robust and evolving collection of current, evidence-based pediatric medical information. The functionality of the portal and continual expansion of information, policy, and resource types support its value as an important informational tool in a pediatric clinical environment. While not suitable for all library users, pediatric clinicians in training and medical students may benefit from familiarity with the Pediatric Care Online portal and tools for use on clinical rotations.