Case
Scenario
One of the Herzl health professionals (HP) comes to see me while I am working in the library. She has a young patient, a nine year child, who has been diagnosed with pediatric MS. She would like some information for the family.
Resolution
This diagnosis is relatively rare and we are both thinking it may be difficult to find information. As she will be visiting the Montreal Children's Hospital that Friday I suggest they go to the Family Resource Library there, which is excellent, in case they have any special resources on the topic. I tell the HP I will follow up when I am at the Herzl and ask her to write up an InfoRx and leave it for me so that I can fill out a consult.
The next day I call the Family Resource Library at the Children's to see if they do in fact have any special resources on the topic, which it turns out they do not. I decide to do a quick Google search first thing Monday to see what might be out there. I don't normally turn to Google first unless I looking for the US name of a drug before looking it up in a US resource, but this time it seems like the thing to do. I am surprised to see how many excellent resources come up right off the bat:
Search: pediatric multiple sclerosis
Results:
For the health professional:
MS Society of Canada
Hospital for Sick Children Paedetric Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Clinic
National MS Society (US)
Pediatric MS
Quebec chapter of MS Society of Canada
For the patient and family:
MS Society of Canada publications on young persons with MS
Includes an activity book for children with MS, a guide for parents, and answers to FAQ
University of California Children's Hospital
Pediatric MS Center
National MS Society (US)
About MS: Pediatric (Childhood) MS
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Neurology: Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Clinic
National Pediatric MS Center at Stony Brook University Hospital
I also search NOAH (New York Online Access to Health), as well as the default MedlinePlus, to see what they have on the topic. Noah has a couple of links to to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, ones I have already found, but MedlinePlus does not have anything at all on the topic.
Discussion
(Also see Challenges post for today)
I recently gave a course to hospital staff on using Google wisely and well, and one of the things I made a point of stressing is that Google is just a means to an end. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of Google as a diagnostic tool, and especially on its use by consumers to find health information. I believe that *if* you know what you're doing, and more importantly *if* you know how to evaluate what you find, then it can be a really useful, if unreliable, tool for finding information quickly in multiple resources.
Showing posts with label hospital resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hospital resources. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Genetic counseling, uninsured population & birth order: 3 cases from the Patient and Family Resource Centre (PFRC)
Case #1
Scenario
A pregnant woman in her late twenties comes into the library. To my untrained eye she looks like she is in her 3rd trimester. She speaks halting French and asks if we have any information on genetic counselling. I conduct a reference interview, asking a few questions in order to narrow down her information needs. She wishes to know whether there is someone she can speak to confidentially at the hospital about the results of a DNA test done recently on her baby.
Resolution
I phone one of the GPs I provide research assistance to at the Herzl. He suggests that I contact the hospital's genetic counsellor, which I do. I am advised to inform the patient that she will be able to speak with the genetic counsellor but that she will need a referral from her GP in order to do so. I relay this infomration to the woman.
Total time: 20 mins
Case #2
Scenario
A woman phones and asks for information about admission and regarding the costs of delivery at the hospital (both vaginal and C-section). The woman's sister is 8 months pregnant, has recently immigrated and does not have Quebec insurance.
Resolution
I contact one of the nurses in Maternal-child health who I have recently assisted with the creation of patient handouts. She advises that the woman contact JGH Admissions for this information. She suspects that the sister is without status and likely has not yet seen a GP in this country, and gives me several names of GPs who are accustomed to accepting uninsured patients. I call the woman back with contact information for JGH Admissions. I also provide the names and tel. nos. of the aforementioned GPs and tell her she can contact them if her sister needs to see a GP before her due date, regardless of insurance status.
Total time: 40 mins
Discussion
Had the woman contacted JGH Admission directly it is unlikely that they would have detected her sister's underlying and more important need to see a GP.
Case #3
Scenario*
A older female Herzl patient contacts me at the library. Her husband has recently passed away and her three children, who are in their late teens and early twenties, have been arguing over their inheritances. She would like to read 1 or 2 journal articles on the subject of social dominance and sibling rivalry. She believes that reading about these dynamics might help her to cope with her situation.
Resolution*
I contact my colleague at the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry (ICFP) Library as our collection does not include psychiatry or psychology and this is not my area of expertise. She suggests I do a search in PsychInfo, and provides a couple of key words I might find useful. (PsychInfo does not index using the MeSH vocabulary). I do a quick search in the database and find several articles that may be of interest.
I get back to the woman and conduct a more extensive reference interview, wanting to confirm that I have correctly understood her information needs. She speaks to me at length about her family history and this present situation. She tells me that she wants something that will be simple to read, and I suggest that perhaps she should consider going to Chapters or Amazon instead. She then admits that several weeks ago she found some very interesting articles in our library's Journal of Psychosocial Nursing at which point I am confident that she will be able to read the articles I have found.
Total time: 1 hour
Discussion
This is an example of an information need that requires access to a library and the assistance of a librarian in order to be filled.
Scenario
A pregnant woman in her late twenties comes into the library. To my untrained eye she looks like she is in her 3rd trimester. She speaks halting French and asks if we have any information on genetic counselling. I conduct a reference interview, asking a few questions in order to narrow down her information needs. She wishes to know whether there is someone she can speak to confidentially at the hospital about the results of a DNA test done recently on her baby.
Resolution
I phone one of the GPs I provide research assistance to at the Herzl. He suggests that I contact the hospital's genetic counsellor, which I do. I am advised to inform the patient that she will be able to speak with the genetic counsellor but that she will need a referral from her GP in order to do so. I relay this infomration to the woman.
Total time: 20 mins
Case #2
Scenario
A woman phones and asks for information about admission and regarding the costs of delivery at the hospital (both vaginal and C-section). The woman's sister is 8 months pregnant, has recently immigrated and does not have Quebec insurance.
Resolution
I contact one of the nurses in Maternal-child health who I have recently assisted with the creation of patient handouts. She advises that the woman contact JGH Admissions for this information. She suspects that the sister is without status and likely has not yet seen a GP in this country, and gives me several names of GPs who are accustomed to accepting uninsured patients. I call the woman back with contact information for JGH Admissions. I also provide the names and tel. nos. of the aforementioned GPs and tell her she can contact them if her sister needs to see a GP before her due date, regardless of insurance status.
Total time: 40 mins
Discussion
Had the woman contacted JGH Admission directly it is unlikely that they would have detected her sister's underlying and more important need to see a GP.
Case #3
Scenario*
A older female Herzl patient contacts me at the library. Her husband has recently passed away and her three children, who are in their late teens and early twenties, have been arguing over their inheritances. She would like to read 1 or 2 journal articles on the subject of social dominance and sibling rivalry. She believes that reading about these dynamics might help her to cope with her situation.
Resolution*
I contact my colleague at the Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry (ICFP) Library as our collection does not include psychiatry or psychology and this is not my area of expertise. She suggests I do a search in PsychInfo, and provides a couple of key words I might find useful. (PsychInfo does not index using the MeSH vocabulary). I do a quick search in the database and find several articles that may be of interest.
I get back to the woman and conduct a more extensive reference interview, wanting to confirm that I have correctly understood her information needs. She speaks to me at length about her family history and this present situation. She tells me that she wants something that will be simple to read, and I suggest that perhaps she should consider going to Chapters or Amazon instead. She then admits that several weeks ago she found some very interesting articles in our library's Journal of Psychosocial Nursing at which point I am confident that she will be able to read the articles I have found.
Total time: 1 hour
Discussion
This is an example of an information need that requires access to a library and the assistance of a librarian in order to be filled.
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