Mobile connecting

clinicians to librarians

for just-in-time medical

evidence: mPaL

Ho, K.1, Cordeiro, J.1, Smith, R.2, Hornby, K.1, and Liman, Y.1

1University of British Columbia2Simon Fraser University

• Problem: While health librarians can assist

clinicians develop skills to find and apply research

evidence to guide patient management, the

librarians may not be available to those working in

remote areas.

• mPaL: mobile Phone-a-Librarian

– Examine how mobile phones can support

clinician learning needs by:

1. Enabling consultations with health librarians.

2. Connecting clinicians to their peers to

discuss appropriate application of evidence

into practice.

• mPAL is comprised of two phases:

• UBC medical residents completing their training in rural

and remote communities were involved in this study.

PURPOSE AND

METHODS

1

• Conducting a focus group with clinicians to understand their information seeking needs in clinical situations.

2

• Developing a mobile platform and protocol to connect clinicians to librarians and to cultivate an online dialogue.

FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

• Results: Focus group showed medical residents:

– Most frequently used mobile phones for:

• Storing and accessing evidence-based

medical and drug information

• For emails and texting while on-the-move

– Recognized the benefits of having mobile and

on-demand access to „live‟ librarians for

assistance with information gathering.

• Outcomes: Interdisciplinary team of UBC

medical librarians, medical resident leaders, and

technology experts developed:

1. Smart phone-mediated communication protocol

for residents to work with librarians to support

literature searches; and

2. An online journal club for residents to discuss

appropriate application of medical evidence

uncovered through librarian consultations.

CONCLUSION

• Questionnaires to assess the residents‟ and

librarians‟:

– Satisfaction with the platform;

– Effectiveness in knowledge exchange; and

– The influence of the knowledge on clinical

management.

• Overall, the study:

– Showed that mobile technologies can fulfill a

critical learning gap for clinicians working in

remote and underserved communities, and

– Uncovered important insights about “mobile

digital librarians.”

• Acknowledgements: The mPAL project team would

like to thank:

– All participating UBC medical residents and

librarians, and

– The Nokia Foundation, and TEKTIC and the

Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

for funding.

• For more information on the eHealth Strategy Office visit

http://ehealth.med.ubc.ca/ or go visit: