Hospital Libraries and Internet Point of Care

Abstract

The practice of evidence-based medicine and the changes in the continuing medical education format have impacted hospital libraries and the way they interact with physicians. Internet Point of Care enables the individual physician to research his or her clinical query and apply that research to his or her clinical practice. It also enables the hospital library to become actively involved in the process of CME by collaborating with the Continuing Medical Education department and the individual physician. The cumulative data tabulated from the Internet Point of Care questionnaires help the hospital librarian update the library's collection, plan educational activities for physicians, and reevaluate existing databases.

Key Words:

• Hospital libraries
• continuing medical education
• Internet point of care
• hospital libraries-history
• CME