by Donna Flake, MSLS, MSAS, Director, SEAHEC Medical Science Library

Physicians can save time and obtain current, evidence-based medical information from their medical librarians.  Many physicians feel compelled to seek medical information on their own, even though they are always pushed for time.  Many physicians simply “google” the topic.  However, Google contains fewer than 30% of the medical literature much of which is out of date and incorrect.  Some physicians use PubMed from the National Library of Medicine.  PubMed is a great database but contains very few full text journal articles.

I encourage physicians to contact the medical library nearest to them, and check out what is available.  I am Library Director at a SEAHEC Medical Library in Wilmington, N. C.  Our library has integrated its digital library inside the Electronic Health Record (HER) of New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N. C.  Physicians can go into the EHR, click on my library’s digital library and use:  over 2000 full-text journals, 60 full-text books, the evidence-based product DynaMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and much more.  My local orthopedists can use this method to access these journals FREE OF CHARGE:

• Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research
• Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine
• Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (both American and British)
• Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma
• Spine
• and more

A few other U. S. medical libraries that also have integrated their digital libraries inside the EHR of the hospitals they serve include:

• Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
• Oregon Health and Science University Hospital in Portland
• University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle

If your local medical library has not integrated its digital library into its hospital’s EHR, there are other methods of accessing your library’s digital content.  Many hospital libraries and university medical libraries put their digital content on the hospital’s or university’s intranet, and physicians can access it this way.

Your medical library can save you time, money and effort.  A 2011 survey of U. S. health practitioners revealed

• 75% of survey respondents said “I handled an aspect of a clinical situation differently as a result of having information provided by a librarian, or the library”.
• 1 hour to 2 hours 30 minutes of time was saved by health professionals using the librarian or the medical library rather than seeking the information on their own.

I also conducted a medical library-user survey at my hospital.  Doctors and other health care providers responded.

• 59% of survey respondents indicated that information from library services influences decisions in patient care.
• 73% of survey respondents indicated that information from the library would have been difficult to obtain on their own.

In summary, I encourage you to contact your medical library to see how you can use its services!  A medical librarian could be your best friend!

Mrs. Flake is the Director of the SEAHEC Medical Library in Wilmington, NC, USA.  She has received numerous awards for her accomplishments including being named a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals.