A recording of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources course, held in New York, NY on April 2-4, 2008, is now available online for public use from the Distance Education Program Resources Web page (or directly at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/courses/molbio.html). The recordings were created in Adobe® Connect^TM and are available in Flash^TM format with captions.

This three-day course is intended for librarians, NCBI recently suspended their educational programs including this class because of budget constraints. After April 2008 this class will no longer be taught. Therefore, the current class has been archived for use by the medical librarian community with an interest in searching molecular sequence databases.

http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2008/realmenpr.htm

New National Ad Campaign Features the Theme “Real Men Wear Gowns”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) joined with The Advertising Council to launch a national public service campaign designed to raise awareness among middle-aged men about the importance of preventive medical testing. http://www.ahrq.gov/realmen/watchvideos.htm

Men are 25 percent less likely than women to have visited the doctor within the past year and are 38 percent more likely than women to have neglected their cholesterol tests (Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2005). Furthermore, men are 1.5 times more likely than women to die from heart disease, cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005).

The new campaign encourages men over 40 to learn which preventive screening tests they need to get and when they need to get them. The public service advertising campaign includes television, radio, print and Web advertising, involving ads incorporating family as a key motivating factor for men to take a more active role in preventive health. http://www.ahrq.gov/realmen/

The Bathtub collection consists of fragments found in the old and rare bindings of the NLM’s rare book collection when items were rebound and conserved in the 1940s and 1950s. It is called the “Bathtub Collection” because then-curator Dorothy Schullian took the leftovers of conservation work home and soaked them in her bathtub to retrieve the often interesting bits and pieces of medieval manuscripts and early printed ephemera she found.

Slowly and ploddingly, especially where they had been glued together to form the linings of covers, I have soaked them apart in my bathtub. My knees, I assure you, have suffered, but I have entered a bibliographer’s paradise …” (Dorothy M. Schullian. “Here the Frailest Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, 47 (1953))

Please visit the site at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/bathtub/

NLM is also home to numerous genealogical resources for those seeking information about ancestors with medical or health related training. Among these is the AMA Deceased Physicians Card File, a collection of nearly 400,000 index cards created by the AMA between about 1901 and 1969 focusing on everyone in the U.S. who received a medical degree. The cards were updated throughout the physician’s career with information about degrees obtained, licensing, addresses and finally cause of death and sometimes obituary citations and even portraits. Please visit the site at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/genealogy/

https://efts.uchc.edu/efts/EftsPublic/about.aspx

The Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFTS) is a transaction-based electronic billing system for interlibrary-loan (ILL) and document delivery. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is committed to working with the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) EFTS staff to expand the system on a national basis to National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) member libraries.

One hundred nineteen health sciences libraries in the Southeastern Atlantic region use EFTS for processing payment of inter-library loan transactions. With 1,246 members across the nation, EFTS effectively centralizes this activity by electronically billing participants. It also reduces the need for participating libraries to create invoices and to write checks for reimbursement of interlibrary loans and document delivery.

Other advantages of participation include monthly detailed transaction reports, the ability to handle charges for rush or fax service, the ability to vary charges to members of special groups, and the ability to handle non-DOCLINE transactions.

Benefits of EFTS

• Reduces Costs
• Improves Cash Flow
• Reduces Human Error
• Increases Efficiency
• Provides Management Reports

For “What participants are saying about EFTS” go to: https://efts.uchc.edu/efts/EftsPublic/WhatLibSay.aspx

For “How to Join EFTS” go to: https://efts.uchc.edu/efts/Common/JoinEfts.aspx

http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2008/innovationspr.htm

A new Web resource that allows users to learn, share, and adopt innovations in the delivery of health services was launched today by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The resource-called the Health Care Innovations Exchange-is available at www.innovations.ahrq.gov.

AHRQ’s Health Care Innovations Exchange is the federal government’s repository for successful health care innovations. It also includes useful descriptions of attempts at innovation that failed. The Web site is a tool for health care leaders, physicians, nurses, and other health professionals who seek to reduce health care disparities and improve health care overall.

One of the innovations reads like an NN/LM funded outreach project:

Church-Based Initiative Supports Volunteers in Providing Education and Screenings to 150,000+ Memphis Residents, Leading to Improved Health Status (04/14/2008)

A church-based program trains congregational members to be volunteer “Health Representatives” for their churches. These representatives provide health and disease prevention education and health screenings related to health priorities established by the church and its pastor, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS.

Stay tuned, there is also an upcoming Webinar: Using AHRQ’s Health Care Innovations Exchange to Take on the Challenges of Care Delivery scheduled for May 12, 2:00 to 3:30 EDT.

http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/discussion/planners/playbook/hurricane/index.html

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has posted online its Hurricane Playbook (ESF-8 Hurricane Response), the first in a series designed to “outline key options and recommended actions to support the HHS Secretary in directing and coordinating the HHS Emergency Support Function (ESF) #8, Public Health and Medical Services, response to disasters and other large scale emergencies.” The playbooks’ primary focus is to enhance the preparedness for response and the transition to recovery (including alert, activation, deployment, and deactivation/demobilization of Federal resources).

It is hoped that state and local planners will use the playbooks to gain an understanding of the ways in which federal resources can be used in support of ESF #8 activities. The playbook employs a scenario that is based on the 2006 and 2007 Atlantic hurricane seasons and reflects consequences of and lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

As this and further playbooks are published, clinicians involved in emergency preparedness may wish to peruse them to learn about the federal government’s strategy for public health and medical responses to disasters. Increasingly, hospitals and other healthcare institutions will be expected to organize their preparedness and response activities in compliance with these principles.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the solicitation of quotations from organizations and libraries to design and conduct projects that will improve access to HIV/AIDS related health information for patients, the affected community, and their caregivers.

Projects must involve one or more of the following information access categories:

• Information retrieval
• Skills development
• State-of-the-art resources
• Resource development
• Document Access.

Emphasis is placed upon the following types of organizations or arrangements for developing these programs:

• Community-based organizations (CBOs) or patient advocacy groups currently providing HIV/AIDS related serves to the affected community
• Public libraries serving communities in the provision of HIV/AIDS-related information and resources
• Health departments or other local, municipal, or state agencies working to improve public health
• Faith-based organizations currently providing HIV/AIDS-related services
• Multi-type consortia of the above-listed organizations that may be in existence or formed specifically for this project.

Standard Awards are offered for up to $60,000. Express Awards are offered for up to $10,000.

Quotations are due to NLM on Monday, June 16, 2008.

The solicitation for the 2008 AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects is posted at http://www.sis.nlm.nih.gov/hiv/2008aidsrfq.html .

Previously funded AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects are posted at http://www.sis.nlm.nih.gov/outreach/aids_cio_projects.html .

If there are any questions or concerns regarding the Request for Quotations (RFQ) or submission of the proposal, please contact Robin Hope-Williams, the NLM Contracting Officer, at (301) 496-6546 or email to: rhwilli@mail.nih.gov.

The national NN/LM web site funding pages have been updated. The main funding page includes Regional Funding links, NLM and NIH information. http://nnlm.gov/funding/ In addition to the main page, there are: Funding Beyond the NLM and NN/LM http://nnlm.gov/funding/grants.html and Proposal Writing Support http://nnlm.gov/funding/support.html

Find out what’s been funded in the Southeastern Atlantic region, and elsewhere by querying the NN/LM Projects Database at http://nnlm.gov/funding/database.html.

The NGC mission is to provide physicians, nurses, and other health professionals, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers and others an accessible mechanism for obtaining objective, detailed information on clinical practice guidelines and to further their dissemination, implementation and use. Below are links to guidelines for April’s health topics.

Health Awareness Topics - April 2008

• Alcohol Awareness Month (see related guidelines)
• Cancer Control Month (see the Frequently Requested Search page for various cancer-related topics)
• National Autism Awareness Month (see related guidelines)
• STD Awareness Month (see the Frequently Requested Search page for various STD-related topics)

The new Hospital Compare website was created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), along with the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA). The HQA is a public-private collaboration established to promote reporting on hospital quality of care. The HQA consists of organizations that represent consumers, hospitals, doctors and nurses, employers, accrediting organizations, and Federal agencies. http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/

“For the first time, consumers have the three critical elements - quality information, patient satisfaction survey information, and pricing information for specific procedures - they need to make effective decisions about the quality and value of the health care available to them through local hospitals.” The updated information is part of the public health effort to strengthen consumer choice and create incentives to motivate providers to provide better care for all Americans. For fuller coverage, see:http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2008pres/03/20080328a.html