Information Needs of Clinicians in Ambulatory Settings

Abstract

While clinicians in ambulatory settings may not be located in rural or unaffiliated settings, they face problems similar to those of their rural colleagues in that they are located at a distance from the main hospital and its library. What are the information needs of these health care providers, what types of information sources do they prefer, and what library services can be offered to best support these needs? The study described in this article develops a picture of how hospital-based ambulatory care clinicians access and use library information resources in caring for their ambulatory care patients and assists hospital librarians in developing appropriate library and information services to serve this special population.

Key Words:

• Ambulatory care facilities
• information services
• questionnaires
• libraries
• hospital