E-Health: Opportunity or Threat to the Medical Library Profession?

1. E-Health Opportunity or threat to the medical library profession? Josephine Marshall The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Melbourne Australia marshallj@wehi.edu.au

2. E-Health“The use in the health sector of digital data for clinical, educational and administrative purposes” • Hype? • Viable new information business? • http://www.noie.gov.au

3. 1999-2000 • “Winning diagnosis for e-health” • “Health is shaping up as one of the big business sectors of the net” • “E-Health will change the nature of medical communication” • “E-Health will restructure global heath care systems” • “E-Health will save lives”

4. October 2000 “dotCom dotBombs dotGones” January2001 “Merger and take over a means of survival for Dot Coms”

5. docs.com • Doctor desktop a misnomer Menduno M. docs.com. Hospital and Health Networks 2000 websurveymd.com • Physicians still under utilize the internet • Physicians sceptical of benefit of internet to healthcare http://websurveymd.mt01.com/

6. Top 5 Physician Web Portals Best clinical content High Quality Top free site for content Relevant news content Dynamic community resources Berkowitz, L e.MD Online Fall 2000

7. Reams Of Information,Some Of It Even Useful • Has the internet made a difference in medicine? • Harvesting medical information off the web is no less tricky for professionals in medicine than anyone else • Practicing medicine on the web a dangerous and addictive habit Zuger, A New York Times Oct 25, 2000

8. The Informationist A New Profession • Complicating demands of literature retrieval • Techniques involved not easy to teach, time consuming • Physicians do not, and never will have time to look for answers to clinical questions Davidoff, F and Florance, V Ann Int Med June 2000

9. Librarian to Informationist • A crucial role • Extension of our professional role • Linking librarian to e-health

10. Librarians In E-Health • Familiar with values in access, management, preservation • Unfamiliar with e-commerce methods • Comfort levels change when information becomes a commodity

11. “For Physicians By Physicians” • Access away from traditional physical site • An aggregator of resources • Impact on library budgets

12. A Health Information Action Plan For Australia Australian Health Libraries Submission • Librarians have education and experience • Working knowledge of field • Empirical experience meeting information needs of health professionals and consumers • Collaborative nature of Australian health libraries

13. Health Online Action Plan Goals • Develop national standards for health information management and IT that are compatible with international standards activity • Training and support for health care workers and consumers to encourage uptake and use of information technology http://www.health.gov.au/healthonline/action.htm

14. Foster research and development and best practice in the use and implementation of online technologies in the health sector • Expand development of decision support services • Increase use of online applications to support efficient clinical practice • Expand markets for Australian online health services http://www.health.gov.au/healthonline/action.htm

15. Medical Librarians In The Knowledge Century • Key stakeholders • Leaders in health information community • Ideally suited to the e-health world