How will the government’s endorsement of the electronic medical record, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and a state’s own privacy laws affect the actual adoption of the EMR?  A new study from MIT and University of Virginia researchers suggest that it may be a delicate balancing act.

You can download and read a copy of the study

Ars Technica also has a rundown of the findings and the possible repercussions.

Check out the April issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research. And consider joining us on Facebook, where you can write on our wall to suggest topics you’d like us to cover, or start a discussion about how you use the newsletter.  Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/NIH-News-in-Health/45385547967 and become a fan.

In this edition:

Get Moving and Stay Healthy Make Physical Activity Part of Your Life
People from all walks of life find it difficult to get enough exercise. But research shows that all Americans need physical activity for good health. New government guidelines can help you get started and stay active.

Remember To Take Your Pills? Jog Your Memory of What To Take and When
We forget things every day-people’s names, our keys or whether we locked the front door. But when it comes to taking your medicines, don’t let your memory fail you.

Health Capsules:

• Study Questions Prostate Cancer Test
• Vitamin C May Ward Off Gout
• Featured Web Site: Rethinking Drinking

Click here to download a PDF version for printing.

HIV/AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects 2009 (NLM-09-078/SES)

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 1, 2009.

The solicitation for the 2009 HIV/AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects is posted at http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/hiv/2009aidsrfq.html .

Primary Point of Contact:

Shari E. Shor, Contract Specialist

shorse(at)mail.nlm.nih.gov

Phone: 3014354388

Fax: 301-402-0642

Secondary Point of Contact:

Robin D. Hope-Williams, Contracting Officer

rhwilli(at)mail.nih.gov

Phone: 301-435-4379

Fax: 301-402-8169

The Community Health Library of Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA was awarded a grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to establish an Assistive Technology Computer Workstation.  The Community Health Library provides consumer health information to patients, family members and the general public in a variety of formats.  All services are provided free of charge.

The Assistive Technology Workstation features a variety of tools to enable patients and the general public with low/no vision and fine motor disabilities to independently access health information either online or via print materials in the library.  The workstation computer includes a large screen monitor, Zoomtext magnifier/reader software, Braille keyboard, large size alternative keyboard, Plustek Reader and Big track trackball.  The workstation table features adjustable table surfaces for the comfort of each indivual user.

From November 2008- February 2009 the workstation has been used by two visually impaired patients.  I’m disappointed with the usage statistics.  The workstation has received considerable internal and external promotion.  Promotion via an organization the size of Geisinger Medical Center and the region takes time and with additional time usage will increase.

External and internal promotional initiatives were launched.  The Community Health librarian coordinated five clinical staff orientation sessions with the partner departments of Ophthalmology and Geisinger HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital.  Promotion continues with presentations planned for a variety of clinician, patient and external groups.

The successful implementation and installation of the workstation enables the Community Health Library in the long-term to provide a fulls cope of services and access to the target population.  Without this grant, the library did not have the ability to provide equal access to the library resources. I consider this a success and the usage will follow given time and continued promotion.

Patricia Ulmer- Geisinger Medical Center, Community Health Library.  Danville, PA.

James Boyle, a professor of law and co-founder of the Centre for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University and author of The Public Domain: enclosing the commons of the mind, has given a public lecture on how intellectual property and public domain interacts with areas of human development such as scientific research and free speech.  Princeton’s UChannel has put his lecture up in a freely available podcast.

Go to the UChannel page to listen.

The Modern Language Assocation’s (MLA) new style guide for citing sources in research has done away with print being the default style.  They have also done away with citing the URL of an electronic resource found on the web!

The Modern Language Association’s styles are long the standard in humanities research, could other style guides be far behind?  With much of the medical research being published in electronic journals now how will other citation standards change?

Ars Technica has a short article with comments discussing the changes as well as a link to the MLA’s new guide.

Network Services Coordinator
National Network of Libraries of Medicine Middle Atlantic Region

NYU Health Sciences Libraries seeks to fill the position of Network Services Coordinator for the Middle Atlantic Region (MAR) of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. The mission of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) is to advance the progress of medicine and improve the public health by providing all U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information and improving the public’s access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health. The Middle Atlantic Region (MAR) office serves NN/LM members in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Overall Responsibilities

The Network Services Coordinator plans and organizes resource sharing and network programs in consultation with the MAR Resource Sharing Committee. Manages the DOCLINE program of the Region, offering training and consultation. Ensures compliance with all NLM requirements for members using DOCLINE and LinkOut.

Reports to RML Associate Director.

Specific Responsibilities

1. Administers the DOCLINE and LinkOut programs of the NN/LM for the Region ensuring accuracy of the member information in the directory. Sees that membership certificates are distributed in a timely manner;
2. Staffs the MAR Resource Sharing Committee and encourages their participation in the development of region-wide resource sharing efforts;
3. Trains all RML staff on the fundamentals of DOCLINE and interlibrary loan, so they can answer basic questions from members;
4. Works five hours per month in a network member’s Document Delivery or interlibrary loan department;
5. Develops training programs using Adobe Connect, online tutorials and simple printed instructions for training staff in a variety of libraries on use of the DOCLINE and LinkOut systems; provides individual or group consultation on use of DOCLINE and LinkOut if needed;
6. Encourages use of EFTS and helps problem solve with librarians who cannot use it, due to technical or administrative problems;
7. Is training point of contact with other RMLs and the National Library of Medicine’s staff to be expert on current and upcoming system changes or technology developments in areas affecting resource sharing. Attends monthly teleconferences and provides regular feedback to NLM on problems or concerns of MAR members in regard to resource sharing;
8. Organizes user testing of new technologies and systems for NLM if requested;
9. Participates in all RML staff activities including exhibits, state liaison efforts, network member questions, implementation of region-wide programs including but not limited to Emergency Preparedness and Historical Collections and in offering training;
10. Develops and manage the NN/LM MAR RML Consultants program;
11. Develops a program to recruit new members, including a recruitment kit;
12. Oversees the annual contact process to ensure that the appropriate information is gathered and compiled;
13. Develops and implements a region-wide member recruitment program for public libraries;
14. Other related duties as required.

Skills and Requirements

MLS and at least 5 years experience in health sciences libraries. Knowledge of DOCLINE, LinkOut and related technology and cataloging issues preferred. Excellent communications, project management and team skills.

Salary begins at $60,000, with the NYU Medical Center benefits package. S/he is considered an employee of the New York University School of Medicine, which is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Information on the Middle Atlantic Region of the NN/LM is at http://nnlm.gov/mar/.

Applicants should send their resume and a letter of application to:

Ms. Terry Serra
NYU Health Sciences Libraries
NYU Langone Medical Center
550 First Avenue
New York, NY  10016
Fax: (212) 263-6534
jobs@library.med.nyu.edu
http://library.med.nyu.edu

Increasingly health sciences librarians are finding a need to move outside the library to provide small group instruction.  Technology facilitates the process and in 2009 the cost of outfitting the mobile classroom has been reduced significantly.  In a hospital setting providing instruction in the patient care setting ensures that your customers, hospital staff and physicians, are familiar with the extensive array of online medical resources that you work hard to create and for which you dedicate a considerable amount of funds.  By bringing instruction to the point of need there is a greater likelihood that hospital staff will learn how to use the library’s online resources and will actually use the tools.

GETTING STARTED

If your hospital is wired to the Internet the first and most important step has been completed.  If the hospital is not yet wired this is an essential component to tackle and the best way to begin the process is to get to know the head of information technology (IT) at your institution.  However, let’s assume that the hospital is fully hardwired.

Wireless Connectivity:

The next step would be to investigate installation of wireless Internet access.  At Kaleida Health in Buffalo, New York, the four hospital libraries (Buffalo General Hospital, Millard Fillmore Gates Circle, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, and Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo) were among the first departments to provide wireless access to the Internet.  We achieved this milestone with a grant from MAR in 2005.  We partnered with the health system’s IT department who supported the additional related costs because they wanted to test the use of wireless Internet connectivity and saw the libraries as a good test bed.  Having wireless access in the library gave the staff the ability to move around the library to provide instruction, one-on-one, to library users at their individual laptop computers.  Since 2005 wireless access to the Internet has been installed in many areas of our hospitals. The expanded wireless access provides an opportunity to move instructional activities from the library to other areas of the hospital.

RESOURCES FOR THE MOBILE CLASSROOM

In late 2008 we received a new laptop computer, a gift from a hospital physician.  A second grant from MAR in 2008 was used to purchase a Digital Light Processing (DLP) projector. The laptop computer coupled with the DLP projector were the resources needed to roll-out our mobile classroom.  Because we wanted a full compliment of hospital software programs on the laptop the cost was approximately $1,000, which is a bit higher than standard retail cost.  We sought funds from MAR to cover the cost of the DLP projector and a replacement bulb, which came to just under $1,000.  Thus with $2,000 the Kaleida Health Library’s mobile classroom became a reality.

Using the Mobile Classroom

We have used the mobile classroom to train undergraduate college students serving as interns in an area public school to use MedlinePlus to access authoritative, understandable, reliable health information.  The interns are working with elementary school teachers in a train the trainer model to instruct the teachers how to use MedlinePlus and other NLM and NIH health information resources to teach school children about living a healthy lifestyle.  Many of the students are refugees from third world countries such as Somalia and Myanamar.  This project is a follow-up to the Somali-Bantu health education project completed in late 2008.

Currently planning is underway to offer an in-service health information training program for Buffalo city public school nurses.  The training session is planned for early May.  Many Buffalo City school nurses are Kaleida Health employees and we have a commitment to ensure that the nurses have access to the full spectrum of library services and resources as staff located in one of our hospitals.  Thus, we are working with the lead school nurse for Kaleida Health and the Director of Health Services for Buffalo City schools to offer the in-service program.  The program’s focus will include use of MedlinePlus to educate students about healthy lifestyle issues such as nutrition, infections, immunizations, safety and the like.  We will use both the DLP projector and the laptop to instruct the school nurses, thus taking full advantage of our mobile classroom.  We hope that this will be the first in a series of training programs for the school nurses.

By using the mobile classroom we will bring knowledge and information to an important new group of library users.  Without the technological resources described above this training program would not have become a reality.  It is our expectation that by introducing the school nurses to the myriad of resources available via MedlinePlus, and services available from Kaleida Health Libraries that the nurses will be empowered to use both more effectively and more frequently.  We also hope that the school nurses will view the libraries as a resource available to support their professional information needs.

Diane G. Schwartz, MLS, AHIP, FMLA
Director of Libraries
Kaleida Health
100 High Street
Buffalo, NY 14203

Email:  Dschwartz@kaleidahealth.org
Website:  http://library.kaleidahealth.org

Mellon Grants CLIR $4.3 Million for Year Two of Hidden Collections Program

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded CLIR $4,303,000 to support a second year of its Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives program. The program was created in 2008, with Mellon funding, to identify and catalog special collections and archives of high scholarly value that are difficult or impossible to locate through finding aids. See news release at  http://www.clir.org/news/pressrelease/09hiddenpr4.html

CLIR will issue a request for proposals by the end of April and will announce decisions in fall 2009. A standing review panel, formed in 2008, will evaluate proposals and select award recipients.

More information about the award program is available at http://www.clir.org/hiddencollections/index.html.

Council on Library and Information Resources

1752 N Street NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20036, USA

Phone: 202.939.4750

www.clir.org

Medical Words: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine

This tutorial teaches you about medical words. You’ll learn about how to put together parts of medical words. You’ll also find quizzes to see what you’ve learned.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicalwords.html