• Browser compatibility
• Registering to use the web site
• Search help

Browser compatibility
The BMA web site is designed to be compatible with the following platforms and browsers which support accessibility.

For Windows PCs, versions 2000 and later
Internet Explorer 6 and above 
Firefox 2 and above

For Macintosh OS 9 and later 
Safari 3 and above 

Optimum screen resolution is 1024 x 768.

Registering to use the web site
The web site has a registration system which allows us to target information at distinct categories of users. This helps us to provide information and services exclusively for members as a benefit of membership as well as other users who have an interest in the BMA.

The user categories are:

• BMA members (doctors and students).

On registration, a member's web name and password will remain current for as long as their membership of the BMA is current. Members can change their name, password, email address and other details at any time by going to the Edit my details section of the site after logging in.

If a doctor or student membership lapses, the web account will be automatically downgraded to Non-member status. If they rejoin the web account will automatically be upgraded.

• Non-member doctors who have a registration with the General Medical Council

Non-members can join the BMA using our online form. Under normal circumstances a new member can register for a full member web account 24 hours after receiving their membership number.

• Guest users registered at our discretion.

These include non-medical staff working in the NHS or related professions, staff from voluntary and governmental organisations. Certain parts of the site contain information which is useful for them in working alongside doctors and students.

• Press users who have been authenticated by our press office

This facility is available only to journalists or researchers working for the print or broadcast media including online news services.

Embargoed information is held on the BMA site. Press users who register for access will be held to have agreed to abide by the embargo set. The BMA reserves the right to remove from the list of registered users any person who breaks an embargo.

• Library associate members from medical and health libraries worldwide

Current members include postgraduate medical centre libraries, medical charities, pharmaceutical companies, research organisations and university libraries.

Our annual subscription rates are:

1. Public sector (eg health service and academic libraries) £67.00 + VAT
2. Film and video services only £67.00 + VAT (See important notice on film competition and video services)
3. Single-issue charity (at the Librarian's discretion) Free
4. Private sector (eg pharmaceutical companies) £670.00 + VAT

The subscription runs from April to March although organisations can join at any time during the year. Private sector members may try out our services for a three month trial period without paying a subscription. To qualify for free membership, charities must be small and be able to provide proof that they are unable to support their own information service.

• Other users with access only to the publicly available pages.

Large parts of the site are open access to give general information on topics such as what the BMA does, what its policies are, advice on taking up a career in medicine and how to use the services which doctors provide.

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Search tips
Use these tips to make the most of our search and get better results.

• Using the search
• Boolean searching
• Using the advanced search

Using the search
Where is the search?
The search box is at the top-right of each page. There is also an advanced search option accessible immediately below which allows you to search the whole site or specific areas within it. More information on this option is available below.

How do I get better results?
Searching for a single word may not give good results. The more information you provide, the more refined your results will be. For example searching for 'primary care trusts' will return better results than searching for 'trusts'. In addition, making your search more specific by using the advanced search will enhance your results.

Is the search case sensitive?
No. Entering the keywords doctor, DOCTOR, Doctor or dOCTOR will produce the same results.

How to I search for a phrase?
You can search for a complete phrase by using quotation marks. For example the search expression 'end of life' will find all documents containing that phrase.

I am concerned that the search isn't finding the most recently added / updated pages
Using the advanced search allows you to select date ranges to find the most relevant pages, for example 'pages published / updated in the last 7 days'.

Boolean searching
Can I use Boolean searching on the site?
Yes, you can use the Boolean terms as detailed below:

AND keyword search
There is no need to put AND between your keywords. Enter your search keywords in the simple search, separated by a space, and click the go button. This will find all documents containing all of your keywords.

OR keyword search
Putting OR between your search keywords will find all documents containing any of your keywords.

Example: The search expression 'doctor OR physician' will find all documents containing either doctor or physician or both.

AND NOT search
Putting AND NOT in front of a keyword will exclude that keyword from the search. Any documents containing the excluded keyword will not be included in the search results.

Example: The search expression 'doctor AND NOT physician' will find all documents containing doctor but not documents containing physician or both doctor and physician.

Using the advanced search
Where is the advanced search?
A link to the advanced search appears directly below the search box, at the top-left of each page.

What do the types of search mean?

• All of my search words - looks for results that contain every word entered.
• Any of my words - looks for results that contain any one or more of the words entered.
• Exact phrase - looks for results that contain the phrase exactly as entered.
• Boolean - use this option when the search expression is in Boolean format (see above).

Dates to search
This allows you to restrict your results to one of the pre-defined date periods.

Display order results
This allows you to choose the order in which your search results are displayed.

Searching by national areas
The default searches all national areas. You can use these options to restrict your search to one or more areas.

The national areas were set up following devolution. All content is marked to indicate to which national areas it is relevant to. Much, but not all, of the content applies to national areas.

Site areas to search
Use this section to specify whether you wish to search the live pages, the archived pages or both. You can also refine the search further by selecting one or more specific topic areas from the list provided.

The archive contains documents which are still of interest but which form background information to previous activities in the BMA. They are organised by topic areas and by year.