MSF's volunteer physicians receive free access to Elsevier's electronic CDS tool

The physicians of the world renowned Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, will receive free access to MD Consult (www.mdconsult.com), Elsevier's premier electronic clinical decision support (CDS) tool, as the result of a special new Elsevier campaign.

As part of its "All You Need to Make a Difference" Campaign, Elsevier, a world leader in healthcare and medical publishing and online solutions, will donate a free subscription to MSF for each annual individual MD Consult subscription purchased between Nov. 16 and Dec. 18, 2009. Based on its projections, Elsevier estimates that the month-long campaign could provide 400 subscriptions to MSF's volunteer physicians. Based on average monthly sales, Elsevier estimates that the licenses donated to MSF's volunteer physicians could be worth as much as $140,000.

"We are extremely grateful to Elsevier for choosing to contribute MD Consult subscriptions and financial support to MSF," said Jennifer Tierney, Director of Development, MSF-USA. "Its generosity will help to provide essential emergency medical care to people caught in medical crisis at what could be the most vulnerable moment of their lives. Whether treating children for acute malnutrition, vaccinating against diseases like meningitis or providing aid to people suffering from a natural disaster, Elsevier's contribution will make a substantial difference to our programs around the world."

Both Elsevier and MSF share a commitment to advancing global healthcare through timely, accurate clinical knowledge and data. MSF aid workers operate programs in more than 60 countries, from Cambodia, Guatemala and Armenia, to Burundi, Brazil and Bosnia. Elsevier, in turn, has 7,000 employees working in more than 70 offices worldwide and a track record of partnership with global science and health communities in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and the U.S. Clinicians in more than 139 countries throughout the world now use Elsevier's CDS tools.

"During this season of giving and compassion, Elsevier wanted to donate CDS tools that will surely enhance care and improve outcomes for patients living in troubled spots of the world," said Randy Charles, Managing Director, Global Clinical Reference, Elsevier. "By supporting MSF physicians through 'All You Need to Make a Difference,' Elsevier fulfills its global healthcare mission of building insight and breaking boundaries. Elsevier is dedicated to providing every clinician in the world with accurate, evidence-based, interactive answers to the most critical clinical questions."

MD Consult will also help volunteer physicians diagnose and treat conditions associated with armed conflict, malnutrition, natural disasters and lack of access to care, and other epidemics. With a world population of close to seven billion people, some 32.9 million have HIV/AIDS, 13,700,000 have tuberculosis and 247,000,000 have malaria, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's Global Health Facts.