Medical Librarians CAN save you time AND assist you in making better informed clinical decisions.

Medical Librarians have an essential role in health care.  They provide evidenced-based medical information to health professionals, enabling them to make better informed clinical decisions.

A recent JAMA article (Sept. 25, 2013), “The Evolving Role and Value of Libraries and Librarians in Health Care,” reported on a study of health professionals in which 71% of the respondents said they changed how they managed the care of a particular patient as a result of information provided by the health science library.

At many medical centers, medical librarians are actually going on rounds with physicians and medical residents, then providing evidenced-based medical information on the medical cases studied.  I did this with the Pediatric physicians and residents in a former job.

A landmark study was published in the Journal of the Medical Library Association in January 2013.  It demonstrates the importance, value, and cost savings of medical libraries, and medical librarians.  16,122 physicians, nurses, and other health professionals at 118 hospitals in the US and Canada responded to the survey.  The survey was designed to determine whether information obtained from library services was perceived as valuable and if the information was considered to have impacted patient care.  Here are some of the results:

• 7% felt the impact was significant enough to reduce patient length of stay
• 56% felt the knowledge helped avoid adverse events, such as hospital readmission, patient mortality, and additional procedures
• 92% of health professionals said medical information provided through library services provided new knowledge
• 95% of health professionals said medical information provided through library services resulted in the provider making a better informed clinical decision
• 85% of physicians believed the information from the library saved, on average, 2.5 hours of their time
• 84% of health professionals felt the knowledge contributed to a positive change in patient care, such as advice given to patient or choices of drugs

In Spring, 2013, I completed a user satisfaction survey on the SEAHEC Medical Library in Wilmington, NC.  Of the physicians who responded, 95% agreed that the information the library provided would have been difficult to obtain on their own.  Additionally, 75% agreed that the information the library or the library databases provided influenced decisions on patient care.  Below is a sampling of comments from my user satisfaction survey:

• A physician stated:  “The library has been invaluable for research projects and articles submitted for publication.”
• An OB/GYN resident stated:  “The librarians are very knowledgeable and helpful with journal articles and literature searches.”
• A physician stated:  “The librarians provided excellent, prompt help.”
• A nurse administrator stated:  “I’d never be able to find what I want due to lack of knowledge and/or time constraints.  My job would be so much more difficult without the library services.”
• An administrator of the Emergency Department stated:  “Love our library, we couldn’t do without it.”

I encourage readers of this blog to contact their medical librarians – great things can happen!

Sources:

Sollenberger, J, Holloway, R.  The evolving role and value of libraries and librarians in health care.  JAMA Sept 25, 2013 310 (12): 1231.

Marshall, J, Sollenberger J, Easterby-Gannett S, et al.  The value of library and information services in patient care:  results of a multisite student.  J Med Lib. Assoc 2013 101 (1): 38-46.

Mrs. Flake is Library Director at the SEAHEC Medical Library in Wilmington, NC and renown for her work with libraries around the world.