Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R J Veenstra

Publications and source records attributed to R J Veenstra.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

A clinical librarian program in the intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical decision-making in the intensive care setting frequently requires the physician to obtain additional resource information. Physicians typically consult with colleagues, use personal medical books or files, or use library materials. Clinical librarians may also be used. This study evaluates the effectiveness of an ongoing clinical librarian program in the intensive care setting. DESIGN/SETTING: During a 3-month period, house officers in the medical and coronary ICUs in a major teaching hospital asked the clinical librarian 66 patient-care questions. Attached to the information selected by the clinical librarian was a questionnaire asking how the information was applied. MAIN RESULTS: There was an overall response rate of 65.1%. House officers indicated that the information: a) aided in diagnosis (37.2%), b) contributed to a better understanding of the therapy (51.2%), and c) resulted in improved patient management (30.2%). In some instances, the information was multibeneficial. The clinical librarian spent an average of 47 mins/question, and accumulated an average computer charge of $3.59. Personnel and on-line charges over the 3-month study period averaged $45/question. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical librarian programs may deliver patient-specific information in a timely, cost-effective manner. This information has an impact in the intensive care setting.

Connecticut↗

Clinical medical librarian impact on patient care: a one-year analysis.

The primary role of the clinical medical librarian (CML)--locating and providing quality-filtered, patient-specific information to physicians--has been questioned recently because of the dramatic rise in end-user searching. This study administered a questionnaire to evaluate the current impact of this service in a major hospital setting with a long established CML program. The study showed that the CML provided house officers with information that affected patient care (defined as diagnosis, diagnostic tests, or treatment) between 40% and 59% of the time. This was true even though most physicians reported they generally researched the question prior to consulting the CML. In addition, the house officers in this study indicated that they distributed the CML-provided information to other health care providers 56%-96% of the time. Based on these limited results, it appears that CMLs can continue to provide information that has a strong impact on patient care, despite the availability of an end-user local MEDLINE system.

Connecticut↗

Access to information about AIDS.

Medical information related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is highly diverse, and the practicing physician or researcher may find specific information difficult to locate. To provide timely access to medical information on topics related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), several computer-based products have recently been developed. Some are available from vendors of online information systems, whereas others are available only on CD-ROM or floppy disk. We review several computer-based products. AIDSLINE is the most comprehensive bibliographic index, AIDSTRIALS contains specific information about ongoing unpublished investigational studies, and AIDS Knowledge Base from San Francisco General Hospital is an up-to-date electronic textbook covering all aspects of AIDS. COMPACT LIBRARY: AIDS operates on a microcomputer and combines several databases, including full-text AIDS-related articles from nine major medical journals. AIDS References from the Bureau of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases provides critical analysis of publications worldwide. Although smaller in size than AIDSLINE, about one third of the publications covered by this resource are not covered by AIDSLINE.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Coverage of sixty core veterinary medical journals by ten indexing and abstracting tools.

Ten indexing and abstracting reference sources were examined for their coverage of 60 core veterinary medical journals. The costs of the indexes also were compared. Coverage of the 60 core veterinary journals ranged from 8 of 60 journals by Current Contents--Life Sciences to 57 of 60 by Index Veterinarius. Based on yearly costs, format, and coverage of the 60 core veterinary journals, Small Animal Practice and the 2 editions of Veterinary Reference Service were determined to be the most useful for private practitioners. The Index Veterinarius gives the most complete coverage of the core veterinary journals for veterinary research workers who have access to a library.

Abstracting and Indexing↗