Biomedical Decision.makfng: Will Hospital Libraries Keep pace with the Information Age? Part 1

Last July I was invited to discuss the hospital library’s role in providing quality health care. My host was the Medical, Health and Welfare Libraries Group of the UK Library Association, which held its annual conference in Coventry. Subsequently, my talk was publiihed in Hea[th Libmnes Review.1 Although I have never worked in a hospital library, my invitation to speak was connected with an earlier essay regarding recent changes in regulations proposed by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of these new regulations k to remove the requirement that hospitals maintain a medical library in order to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.z Today these changes in regulations are still pending, but they are expected to be passed by July of thk year. In my Coventry talk, I argued that the HCFA regulations are misguided. Today’s library has widely expanded its services to include computer-based systems, which can make current, relevant information quickly available. As a result, the medical library can be an important tool in avoiding unwitting duplication of research, and it can help prtide faster and more accurate diagnoses, thereby enhancing patient care. In addk tion, since the hospital library helps health professionals to keep current with the latest medical treatments, it can be used as a marketing asset. Administrators at rural hospitais can employ an advertising campaign telling the community residents that they can receive the June 23, 1986