VisualDx is an image-based, clinical, diagnostic decision support system with more than 16,000 images of over 900 diseases, drug reactions, and infections to help users quickly answer the question, “What is this?” The Library is offering a trial of VisualDx through December 12, 2008, to UT Southwestern affiliates, with the invitation to provide feedback to help the Library decide whether to purchase this tool. For an introduction, try the VisualDX 4-minute demonstration.
VisualDX is organized to match the way a doctor thinks about symptons and diagnosis by presenting multiple images of each disease and showing the condition in different stages and in people of different ages and skin types. The clinician enters patient symptoms and other clinical findings, such as:

• Lesion type
• Location on body
• Medical history
• Medication taken

With each entry, the system builds and refines the differential, never eliminating a diagnostic possibility but ranking each one by relevance, and displays images and key clinical information for a quick side-by-side comparison to the patient.
If you try VisualDx, please email your impressions to Mori Lou Higa, Manager, Library Collection Development.