Well put!


-- 
Susan Fowler, MLIS
Medical Librarian

Mobile Resources Guide:
http://beckerguides.wustl.edu/mobileresources

Evidence at Becker:
http://beckerguides.wustl.edu/ebm

Becker Medical Library, Washington University in St. Louis
314-362-8092
[log in to unmask]


On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:03 AM, Burns, Liz (KCVA) <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> The JMLA July 2010 issue has an editorial, "It was the worst of times,
> it was the best of times: positive trends influencing hospital
> libraries" The article mentions Obama's Comparative Effectiveness
> Research (CER).
>
> This sent me to the internet where I pulled up a New York Times, Feb 16,
> 2009 article, "U.S. to Compare Medical Treatments".
>
> The article says that money would be used for systematic reviews and
> some for clinical trials to compare treatments.
>
> It also says, "The new research will eventually save money and lives."
> In addition, that where in the past the government had focused on safety
> and effectiveness of treatment, now it was going to compare treatments
> to see which ones were better. Another focus will  be on saving money by
> shedding light on unnecessary costly treatments.
>
>
>
> Some doctors have been reluctant to consult the medical literature,
> believing that evidence-based practice is a cookie cutter way to
> practice. Other doctors don't have time to search, and find the
> searching too confusing, thus the big appeal for UpToDate.
>
> It is also interesting that the CER generated fear that doctors and
> patients would be dictated to by the government regarding treatments.
> All the more reason for a doctor to call on the librarian to pull up
> literature to support his choice of treatment.
>
> Interestingly, medical librarians have been saying these words to
> administrators for years. CER underlines the fact that the literature is
> out there, but what's been missing is the ability to get to it.
>
> Could all of this be a sounding bell for hospitals to reinstate
> libraries and knowledgeable MLS degreed librarians?
>
>
>
> Liz
>
>
>
> Elizabeth Burns, MLS
>
> Library Director
>
> VA Medical Center
>
> 4801 Linwood Blvd.
>
> Kansas City, Mo. 64128
>
> MOUMVK
>
> 816-922-2315
>
> 816-922-3340 fax
>
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>
> "Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that
> counts can be counted." Albert Einstein
>
>
>