Clinical Key - a guide

Clinical Key is a clinical insight engine that addresses your key clinical research requirements and gives you access to journals and eBooks from Elsevier.

There are certain peculiarities about Clinical Key that you need to know.


Timeout - Clinical Key automatically logs you out after sometime of inactivity. However, the web page still looks as though you are logged in with your name at the top right and the Log out button highlighted. It continues to supply pop-up messages to confirm that requested actions have been carried out e.g. when you add an item to the Reading List.
If your search returns 0 results or you are denied access to a link from your results, this is an indication that your session has timed out and you need to go through the log in process again.

Logging In

To access Clinical Key, you need to login via your NHS Athens account with your Athens usename and password.

• Go to www.ClinicalKey.com.

• In the upper right hand corner of the Home Page, click Login and this drops down the Login box.

• Select the OpenAthens login option

•  The Athens authentication page opens. Enter your NHS Athens account details and Login.
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Personalized Registration

If you are a first time user, you will be prompted to create a personalized Clinical Key account (you must complete this to view eBooks).
 

Click on Activate Personalization on the top right corner to reveal the online form.

If you are not prompted, you can simply click Login in the top right hand corner of the Home Page and select the Not Registered? option from the Login box to view the form.

This is a free "User profile" which is required to view PDFs of books, bookmark titles, and other exclusive benefits such as:

• Saved searches - store frequently used search terms for quick access later by clicking on the Plus sign next to the Saved Searches button.
• Personal Reading List - build your own collection of books, journals and articles to read at your leisure.
• Presentation Maker - collect and save images to present.

Logout - Clicking on the Log out button logs you out of Clinical Key but does not log out your Athens account. You must completely close the browser you are using (e.g. FireFox or Explorer) to ensure that your session is terminated. This is important if you are on a shared computer.
 

Go to the Clinical Key - Searching and Saving Blog for help navigating Clinical Key.