What Clarity excels at…

Clinical Knowledge Summaries

NHS Clinical Knowledge Summary Service

Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) are produced by SCHIN, a Clarity group subsidiary, on behalf of the NHS. The CKS is published in one form for the NHS in England at www.cks.nhs.uk and receives over 17,000 (and growing) visits a day by medical professionals and patients.

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CKS is the world leading source of evidence-based clinical information and practical “know how” about the common conditions managed in primary and first-contact care. These conditions are covered by 200 topics with guidance on how to manage more than 500 clinical situations or scenarios. Authored by a multi-disciplinary team and subject to a rigorous validation process, CKS Knowledge is a trusted and authoritative resource.

The Clarity group has sole rights to distribute CKS outside of NHS England. The group has products which enable CKS to be accessed through the internet, mobile networks, local/national networks or as “pre-loaded” software. According to local requirements, it can be delivered to PCs, laptops, PDAs or MCAs (mobile clinical assistants/handheld terminals). CKS also can act as a “stand alone” product or, to greater effect, work in collaboration with other Clarity products (e.g. Clarity Drug Suite) and integrate with local systems (e.g. electronic health records).

CKS is produced on behalf of the NHS by SCHIN, an ISO9001 accredited supplier. A central resource of the National Library for Health and independent of the pharmaceutical industry, CKS is a resource you can trust because:

  • We employ a multidisciplinary team with experience of primary and emergency care and skilled at finding, selecting and appraising evidence develop the knowledge
  • Draft CKS topics are reviewed by experts, professional organisations, patient groups, and other NHS providers of primary care knowledge (e.g. BNF)
  • The knowledge is kept up-to-date
  • Each topic is formally reviewed every 3 years
  • Interim updates guided by a systematic literature surveillance programme

Editorial processes are overseen by an eminent Steering Group of individuals nominated from:

  • Royal College of General Practitioners
  • Royal College of Nurses
  • Centre for Evidence-based Practice, Oxford
  • National Knowledge Service
  • Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
  • General Practitioners Committee (British Medical Association)
  • Royal Pharmacological Society
  • NHS Direct
  • NHS Connecting for Health
  • Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
  • Practice Nurse Association
  • Nurse Practitioner Association