Patient education

To browse other articles on a range of HSL topics, see the wiki index.

See also

• Health Informatics
• Men's Health Pathfinders
• Women's Health Pathfinders
• Multilingual resources for patients
• Canadian consumer health information (CHI) portal
• Top 100 Canadian Health Websites
• Top Ten (10) Canadian Health Websites 2010
• CAPHIS | Top 100 Health Websites You Can Trust
• Consumer health information
• Consumer health 2.0

Introduction

Patient education is a critical part of providing information services in Canadian health agencies. In fact, most hospital and academic health libraries in Canada and the United States provide some form of patient-based services and educational support in concert with health providers. Simply, good patient information translates into better patient care. Patients deserve access to the best evidence when they request it, especially where it helps to make informed decisions. This access principle is now being extended to include the electronic patient record. In the digital age, hospital libraries collaborate with health professionals in getting information to patients. Publications supplying what needs to be presented to the patient comes as pamphlets and sometimes in other languages. Here are some files that physicians can use to communicate with patients: Medical French for health workers and Medical Chinese for health workers.

• For a more detailed look into "Answering health & medical reference questions: an introduction for information professionals" see these ppts and handout.)
• See the many types of health information

Health librarians' roles

The library's traditional role of providing recreational reading to patients has been transformed into delivering information from the most basic to expert levels that require advanced knowledge. It makes sense that libraries should promote the educational activities that take place within hospitals, and that librarians are part of those efforts. In most modern health organizations, health educators, physicians, and librarians collaborate on projects and consumer health initiatives. Historically, patient education was conducted by nurses or physicians in the clinic, hospital or physician's office. It has been said that patient education begins at the moment a clinician enters the room to greet the patient. However, all health professionals are responsible for explaining what will happen during medical procedures or as a prelude to patients signing consent forms. Many health libraries collect, organize and provide access to sources of information to assist in the provision of patient education. The Internet, with its vast sources and diversity of information, has made it important to impose regulations regarding patient materials. Many hospitals and health organizations expect their libraries and librarians to follow these procedures when providing information services.

• Building Patient Collections - http://colldev.mlanet.org/resources/professional_resources.htm
• Consumer Health Information Specialization Program - http://www.mlanet.org/education/chc/

Google health & Microsoft Vault

In May 2008, Google launched its own electronic patient information system called Google health. Microsoft HealthVault and other similar free web services for consumers - such as the open source Dossia - Lifelong Personally-Controlled Health Record - seek to help patients track personal health information as they move through the health system. The goal with health record projects is to make personal health information accessible and transportable - which is of benefit to both consumers and physicians. In addition to Dossia, the open source Tolven Healthcare integrates the three aspects of e-health: personal health information, information held by physicians and by health organizations using informatics platforms.

Evidence-based CHI

• Best Health (formerly Best Treatments) - http://besthealth.bmj.com/btuk/home.jsp
• Cochrane Consumer Health Network - http://www.cochrane.org/consumers/homepage.htm
• Informed Health Online - http://www.informedhealthonline.com/
• NOAH: Understanding and Using Medical Information (Evidence-based Medicine) - http://www.noah-health.org/en/ebm/index.html
• UpToDate: Patient Information - http://www.uptodate.com/patients/about/toc.do?full_url_key=true&tocKey=table_of_contents/patient_information
• WikiPatient

References

• Chubaty A. Typeface legibility of patient information leaflets intended for community dwelling seniors. Age & Ageing 2009 Jul; 38(4): 441-7.
• CAPHIS. The librarian's role in the provision of consumer health information and patient education. Medical Library Association. BMLA 1996 Apr;84(2):238-9.
• D'Alessandro DM, Kingsley P, Johnson-West J. The readability of pediatric patient education materials on the World Wide Web. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001 Jul;155(7):807-12.
• Klein-Fedyshin M, Burda ML, Epstein BA, Lawrence B. Collaborating to enhance patient education and recovery. J Med Libr Assoc. 2005 Oct;93(4):440-5.
• Lelievre S, Schultz K. Does computer use in patient-physician encounters influence patient satisfaction? Can Fam Physician 2010 56: e6-e12.
• Lindner KL, Sabbagh L. In a new element: medical librarians making patient education rounds. J Med Libr Assoc 2004 Jan;92(1):94-7.
• Microsoft HealthVault: A trusted platform for people to organize, store, and share health information online. 2010
• Pittman TJ, O'Connor MD, Millar S, Erickson JI. Patient education: designing a state-of-the-art consumer health information library. J Nurs Adm. 2001 Jun;31(6):316-23.
• Powers BP, Trinh JV, Bosworth HB. Can This Patient Read and Understand Written Health Information? JAMA. 2010;304(1):76-84.
• Price J, Kosali S. Patient education and the impact of new medical research. Journal of Health Economics 2009;28(6):1166-1174.
• Solomon GL. Turn your computer into a patient education library. Med Econ. 2000 Jun 5;77(11):31-2, 35.