• Librarians – Information specialists in health care

institutions have a constantly increasing role in

searching proper literature.

• Through the advent of the Internet, access to the medical information basically changed

• More and more databases with free access to medical information appear constantly

All needed data is available at only a few clicks awayAll needed data is available at only a few clicks away

Information provided only by Google is not complete Information provided only by Google is not complete nor enoughnor enough

Clinicians can do their own research.

All they need is

•time

•access to databases

•information seeking skills

•technical environment ( computers at clinics, internet)

•and interests

But this is not often the case!

Many times clinicians’ searches do not give proper results

Librarians face a great challenge to participate inclinicians’ searches, offer new information and

•identify

•select

•evaluate

•systematize

the necessary literature

How to find the best evidence for patients’ How to find the best evidence for patients’ tt

Clinicians need additional training on skills for using and searching of medical databases (presentations of new medical databases and workshops)

New achievements in medicine demand new approaches in diagnostics and treatments.

Only the best evidence on treatments, appropriate literature, along with good contact and dialogue with patient can give a successful treatment.

treatmenttreatment

Clinicians were in obligation to participate on congresses with paper or poster presentation

They needed to retrieve new information

91 clinicians’ requests to information specialist for searching databases

Seventy six of them (84%), failed in in searching literature for various reasons

They reported "no access to medical databases“ for different reasons

Old habit to retrieve information from electronic sources by

•using only one or two key words or wrong combination of words, without Medical Subject Headings (MESH)

Results in•many unnecessary data•and accumulation of inappropriate literature

•Some of them have no technical environment (lack of computers at clinics or internet )

The most common problem is

Results: “no matches”

Clinicians need training in question building skills

•Combining key words, often result by “no matches”

•full text of new scientific information (articles and guidelines) is not accessible

•Everyday's clinical practice limit possibilities to read all provided literature

•Only clinical practice and contact with patients offer more chances to reach the literature based on the best evidence in clinical practice

The most important literature:

By searching evidence based medicine (EBM) databases, information specialist solved 84% requests

Problem with not finding articles was caused by unable to access to database and copyright of authors

Seventeen clinicians reported they had lack of time for literature search because of clinical practice

One of the reasons is surely also lack of interest about new technologies

The easiest way to retrieve literature is to consult librarian

What happens after providing all these articles?

Everyday's clinical practice limit possibilities to read all provided literature

But also

Clinical practice and contact with patients offer more chances to reach the literature based on the best evidence in clinical practice

Evidence Based Medicine as a Continuing Medical Eucation

Supported by:

American College of Physicians (ACP)

British Medical Association MBA

Cochrane Collaboration and U.S. Agency for Health and Quality.

Development in medical research

•is constantly present

•actual and numerous databases are precious and rich resources of medical investigation – research

Librarians in health care institutions become also educators

They have to:

•teach medical staff and students

“ How to get fundamental and advanced skills in medical base retrieval?”