TEACHING BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS LIBRARY AS PARTNER Evelyn B. Morgen, Director UConn Health Center Library
BIOMEDICAL & HEALTH INFORMATICS – DEFINITION Biomedical and health informatics (BMHI) is the field concerned with the optimal use of information, often aided by technology, to improve individual health, health care, public health, and biomedical research. Bill Hersch, MD, Professor and Chair Dept of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology Oregon Health & Science University
Information TechnologyPEOPLE Oregon Health & Science University
ROLE OF LIBRARY Libraries collect, organize, and disseminate information Early adopters of technology Teach people how to find, evaluate and organize expert and evidence-based knowledge
LIBRARY Public Health Programs Patient Care PUBLIC School of Dental Medicine School of Medicine RESEARCH Student Academic Computing Allied Health Programs Graduate Programs
UCONN HEALTH CENTER LIBRARY – CURRENT ROLES PROVIDE EVIDENCE BASED RESOURCES – Cochrane Databases – PIER – Essential Evidence Plus – Drug databases – Micromedex and Lexi-Drugs – And others
CLASSES TAUGHT Public Health Informatics Searching for Clinical Evidence in Medicine Facilitate PBL Classes for SOM & SODM Key points in all classes: – Evaluate source – Look for EVIDENCE – not expert opinion – Learn to find and use information efficiently – Life Long Learning
USING EVIDENCE THAT MATTERS At point of care Electronic health records (EHRs) No ONE resource answers all questions
EHRS & “MEANINGFUL USE” Still being hotly debated Will include need for clinical decision support resources How to implement? Link to evidence based resources InfoButtons
INFOBUTTONS Software developed by James Cimino, MD Provides links to full text resources in EHR Can choose from multiple resources Funded by National Library of Medicine Many institutions and vendors now using InfoButtons Open Source Software
EXAMPLES OF USE
INFOBUTTONS LINK TO MORE INFORMATION
CAN PROVIDE A LIST OF QUESTIONS
WILL THEN LINK TO FULL TEXT ANSWER
A medication order entry infobutton screen showing the resulting page when an infobutton next to the medication “Azithromycin” is selected. Del Fiol G et al. JAMIA 2008;15: ©2008 by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
ANOTHER EXAMPLE
WILL A FEW SOURCES ANSWER EVERYTHING? Dangers of reliance on external resources Teaching students to critically evaluate What if....
GPS DISASTERS People who blindly follow a “trusted” source can be Lost in the desert Frozen on a closed winter highway Found in the middle of a lake