Ideas on Using RSS Feeds at the CRMC Hospital Library

Our hospital library has 4 computers connected to the Community Forum intranet network for the hospital staff.  The library has its own website within the Community Forum intranet which I can add content to directly through the Red Dot content management system.  I already put an RSS link to Medical News Today in the navigation bar called “Medical News.”  Clicking on it brings in that day’s health news.  I want to post a short tutorial I created for physicians on setting up RSS feed readers and using them to create feeds for ongoing PubMed search topics.  I am thinking of creating a navigation bar link to New Technology and placing the tutorial there rather than adding it as a Library Update on my hybrid blog page.

The hospital library also has 1 computer connected by DSL to the internet which can be used by patients, their families, and nursing students.  Since the library’s web page cannot be read outside of the Community Forum intranet, I am planning to set up a separate blog for patients and their families and will put an icon on that computer’s desktop for a direct link.  Since RSS feeds are person-specific, I will probably just post a how-to page on setting up a feed reader and include a MedlinePlus RSS feed as an example.

 

MLA-NIH/NLM Joint Project: Health Information Literacy Curriculum

A new pilot project that includes financial backing in a new joint venture by MLA and NIH/NLM.  Eight hospital-based libraries will be selected to pilot a new Health Information Literacy Curriculum designed to (1) increase health care provider knowledge of health information literacy issues, (2) increase patient and provider use of NLM and other consumer resources, and (3) promote the role of librarians as key providers of health information literacy resources and support.

The deadline to apply for this pilot program is January 7, 2008.  For more information and the application form, go to:  http://www.mlanet.org/resources/healthlit/hil_pilot.html

 

New Dietary Supplements Labels Database by NLM

Alan Carr, Outreach Coordinator, NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region, UCLA L. Darling Biomedical Library, released the following information in a 10/24/07 email to the PSR-News listserv: 

The National Library of Medicine has released a new resource focused on dietary supplements. The Dietary Supplements Labels Database, http://dietarysupplements.nlm.nih.gov, includes information from the labels of over 2,000 brands of dietary supplements in the marketplace, including vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and other specialty supplements.The database is designed to help both the general public and health care providers find information about ingredients in brand-name products, including name, form, active and inactive ingredients, amount of active ingredient/unit, manufacturer/distributor information, suggested dose, label claims, warnings, percentage of daily value, and further label information.  Links to other NLM resources, such as MedlinePlus®  and PubMed®, are provided for additional health information. In addition, links to related Fact Sheets from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are also available.

 

Healthcare 411

Check out these weekly audio and visual programs put out by AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality).  They feature news and information on healthcare topics with latest research findings.  Go to http://healthcare411.ahrq.gov/default.aspx and click on “View All Programs” to see the long list.

 

Manage Your Medical Information Online

On 10/4/07, Micosoft announced the launching of a new website, Health Vault, where consumers can manage their personal health and medical information online for free. See the announcement at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_Microsoft_HealthVault.html. The new website is at: http://www.healthvault.com/