So I checked it out on my iPhone.   What immediately impressed me was the larger than normal print, a plus for some of us!  There are 3 ways to bring up a health topic – searching for it in the search box, choosing a body location/system and then “drilling down”, or bringing up the alphabetical list and choosing your topic from there.  I did a sample search for “sinusitis” – the article that came up was written by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an NIH entity.  Then I looked up “skin aging” (not that I have a personal interest in that topic, of course!).  That article was written by the National Institute on Aging, another NIH entity.  Obviously, both are authoritative sources.  And each article contained links to related useful information, definitely a plus.

There are 2 ways to bring up information on a drug/medication – searching in the box or choosing the drug from the alphabetical list.  The drug information is supplied by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists  and sponsored by NLM. 

All and all, I found the Mobile system easy to use.  The information is helpful, easy for the lay-person to understand, and easy to read due to the larger print, larger than the usual size print on a mobile system.  I would recommend this site for quick access to reliable medical information from your smart phone.  And, if you have an iPhone, I still also recommend the UMMC Encyclopedia App for similar health-related information, the subject of my previous blog.

Authored by a respected litigator, this book provides step-by-step guidance through every aspect of trial preparation and presentation. It shows you how to use rhetorical styles, psychological principles, and dramatic techniques to formulate a cohesive, winning trial strategy, from client interview through closing argument.

This handbook is designed to help in the development and implementation of practical human resource systems that have a proven record for increasing individual and firm-wide effectiveness. The book highlights procedures and programs that will help a firm, corporate law department, or government legal staff hire, develop, and manage the performance of employees to enhance organizational productivity and profitability.

I love the idea of making use of all that stuff, like ’see also’ entries in indexes, which has gotten a little lost in electronic searching. As a searcher, though, it makes me feel a bit as if I am giving up control. I am trusting Westlaw to make the connections, and I don’t get to see exactly how the new search algorithms are doing that. I think because West anticipated that those of us who are used to ‘terms and connectors’ or Boolean searches would have trouble letting go, they are still allowing these types of searches in WestlawNext, and I do appreciate that.

The big question mark for me with WestlawNext is the pricing. It was not discussed at the breakfast, but WestlawNext is a separate product from traditional Westlaw. It presumably requires its own contract and has its own pricing structure.

Overall I think WestlawNext looks clean and intuitive to use. I am really looking forward to giving it a try. In the next few weeks, I hope to get a test password, so I’ll let you know what I think as I actually start playing with the product.

Course Handbook from the program Ninth Annual Institute on Securities Regulation in Europe: A Contrast in EU & U.S. Provisions, held January, 2010.

Police Misconduct examines the implications of police misconduct from the crime scene, arrest, preliminary proceedings, investigation, discovery, and litigation of pretrial motions through the jury selection process and trial. Supporting legal analysis and case citations are provided together with sample motions and memoranda.

Here at Jenkins we’re not too concerned about all the changes to come- hey we worked through the switch from dial up to the web! We’ll let you know what we think about WestlawNext after we attend a preview on February 19.  Stay tuned!

Waters and Water Rights is the authoritative reference on this highly complex and rapidly evolving area of law. Primarily national in scope, but with interstate, state-specific and international coverage, this treatise contains more in-depth information than any other publication on legal issues involving water rights, water usage and water quality.

The 13th edition of this 5-volume series of practice manuals will help with initial client interview and with every phase of a divorce.  The first three volumes offer the foundation you need to advise your clients on divorce, annulment, custody, alimony, child support, counsel fees, bankruptcy, taxation, domestic violence, and other related matters. The 13th edition also features a new chapter on divorce mediation and arbitration.

Another feature of the App is the ability to link to numerous topic-specific videos which are on UMMC’s youTube channel. 

To test the App out for this blog, I searched for information on “sinusitis”.  First I chose the Disease category - after scrolling through a very long (but comprehensive!) list of medical conditions, I finally got to the “s’s”.  Chosing sinusitis brings up an article with an overview of the topic and links to symptom, treatment, prevention, “all information”, related articles, and a list of references.  As advertised, at the end of the article is the reviewer’s name as well as his or her professional credentials.  The link to email the article is at the bottom of the “page”.  In the Ask the Expert box you can “Get answers to your Ear, Nose and Throat questions”.  The search box at the top of the App also worked fine.  Typing in “sinusitis”, retrieved the same article and the same links.  So you can retrieve the information that you need in 2 ways – by chosing a category and then scrolling through the list (useful if you are not sure how to spell the term) or by typing your search term directly into the search box. 

In my opinion, iPhone users should download this App.  After all, everyone needs a medical encyclopedia from time to time – how handy to be able to easily carry one around with you.  Anytime you need it, you can access current medical information, information that has been reviewed by a health professional at a reputable university medical center.  And it’s free!

(Note:  If you don’t have an iPhone, you can access the Medical Encyclopedia at the UMMC website.)