Providing Access to Licensed Electronic Resources for Health Care Providers Working with Underserved

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Providing Access to Licensed Electronic
Resources for Health Care Providers Working with
Underserved Populations

• MaryBeth Schell
• Diana McDuffee
• May 4, 2003

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Presentation Outline

• Underlying Assumptions
• Problems/Barriers
• Our Solution
• Successes/Challenges
• Future Plans

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Underlying Assumptions

• Access to high quality health information is
  important
• High quality health information improves the
  quality of health care
• Access to health information can be a factor in
  retaining health professionals in medically
  underserved areas

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Barriers to High Quality Health Information

• Cost
• Access
• Proximity to physical libraries
• Technical Barriers
• Ease/Convenience

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Cost as a Barrier

• MDConsult219.95
• UptoDate495
• Individual Journals
• NEJM99
• JAMA125
• Circulation280

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Our Solution Create a Statewide Digital Library
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NC AHEC Digital Library Goals

• Extend existing university licenses
• Incorporate other licensed resources (AHEC
  consortial purchases, Community Hospitals)
• Provide access to resources for unaffiliated
  users
• Match users with appropriate resources

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Primary Clientele

• AHEC Faculty and staff
• Preceptors
• Students Residents
• Hospital staff
• Community healthcare professionals

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Types of Licenses in ADL

• University
• AHEC Library Hospital
• ADL individual memberships
• Community hospitals

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Authentication Customization

• Dynamically driven website
• Database foundation
• Middleware (Cold Fusion)
• HTML

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Dynamically Driven Website
DB Server
ADL Data Elements, SQL
ADL User
ADL Application Cold Fusion, HTML, Java Scripts
User Browser
Browser Interface
Web Server
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User Database

• User profile stored in database
• Profile indicates resource eligibility
• Resource Access Field

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Resource Database

• Resource database stores each URL
• Resources display in appropriate categories
• Display determined by key in database
• Example categories
• Medical Literature Searching
• Communication/Networking
• Continuing Education

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User Database Resource Database

• Each URL has resource access code
• Cold Fusion action page
• Compares user profile resource access code with
  URL resource access code

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Authentication Result

• Users only see resources for which they have
  eligibility

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ADL Size Scope

• Approximately 10,000 users
• Approximately 32 resource PACKAGES
• Over 1500 URLS

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Challenges

• Need for more usability testing
• Keeping content up-to-date
• Account maintenance
• Outreach/promotion/marketing

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Successes

• Steadily increasing growth
• Anecdotal accolades
• Requests for collaborative efforts

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Future Plans

• Document delivery
• Virtual Live Reference
• Support for CE
• New special collections
• Pharmacy
• Disaster Preparedness
• Complementary Alternative Medicine
• House Original Content

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You can visit ADL!

• http//library.ncahec.net
• Login as a Guest

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MaryBeth SchellAHEC Digital Library Project
Manager

• mbschell_at_email.unc.edu