GRATEFUL MED-LOANSOME DOC outreach project in central Pennsylvania

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Health Sciences Information Access
• Rural Health Information Services

Background:

• Limited access to current medical literature in rural areas.
• Inadequate hospital library resources for physicians in north-central Pennsylvania.
• Geographic challenges in serving a large, sparsely populated region.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of an outreach project providing physicians access to medical literature.
• To evaluate the implementation of GRATEFUL MED and LOANSOME DOC in a rural setting.
• To improve information access for physicians in underserved areas.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of the GRATEFUL MED outreach project over 18 months.
• Conducted demonstrations and individual office training for GRATEFUL MED and LOANSOME DOC.
• Collected statistics on software installations, document delivery, and training participation.

Main Results:

• 62 GRATEFUL MED software packages were loaded.
• 367 document delivery items were supplied by the library.
• 147 physicians (32%) had access to GRATEFUL MED after attending training sessions.

Conclusions:

• The GRATEFUL MED outreach project successfully increased access to medical literature for rural physicians.
• Targeted training and software implementation are effective strategies for improving information access in underserved areas.
• Demonstrates the potential of library outreach programs to support evidence-based practice in rural healthcare settings.