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E Research
April 21, 2008 |
The average medical library is stocked full of cumbersome medical texts written
for physicians and nurses. But some local hospitals are now working to meet the
growing research needs of patients. Narges Ahmadi is the Director of the Medical
Libraries in Lee Memorial Health System. She says, “Physicians have found out
that patients who are better informed are better patients. They are more
compliant when they understand why they are doing things the doctor wants them
to do and the patients feel more empowered now they want to know more.” One big
change in recent years is the research available to patients online. All four
medical libraries within Lee Memorial Health System have recently beefed up
their on-line resources. “Everything that is new in the medicine is published
online in the journals actually but the first journals appear online. So it’s
important to have access to reliable and most up to date information,” says
Narges. Not only is the online information up to date it is accurate. The LMHS
medical libraries have a filtering system so that you can be sure your online
research is coming from a legitimate source. “We maintain the websites where you
can find the reliable information not just googling, there is nothing wrong with
Google but if you go through our website not only is it a search opportunity but
also it’s a filter of the quality that’s an important difference,” says Narges.
Hospital libraries also have hundreds of full texted medical journals available
on-line free of charge. The medical library at Cape Coral Hospital was founded
by members of the hospital auxiliary. Libraries are always looking for
volunteers to keep the program running. |
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