The Informationist: A New Health Profession?

Editorials20 June 2000The Informationist: A New Health Profession?Frank Davidoff, MD and Valerie Florance, PhDFrank Davidoff, MD and Valerie Florance, PhDAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-132-12-200006200-00012 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Physicians have always had a professional obligation to base their decisions on the best available information, an assumption now explicitly embodied in the concept of evidence-based medicine (1). For decades, when physicians wanted information from the published literature, they relied heavily on medical librarians or office assistants to do the searches. The advent of computer-based indexes such as MEDLINE promised to change all that by putting the basic information retrieval tools directly into physicians' hands. The disappointing reality, however, is that physicians still don't regularly search the medical literature themselves, nor do they ask for professional help in searching nearly ...References1. Davidoff F. In the teeth of the evidence: the curious case of evidence-based medicine. Mt Sinai J Med. 1999;66:75-83. MedlineGoogle Scholar2. Smith R. What clinical information do physicians need? BMJ. 1996;313:1062-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Ely JW, Osheroff JA, Ebell MH, Bergus GR, Levy BT, Chambliss ML, Evans ER. Analysis of questions asked by family physicians regarding patient care. BMJ. 1999;319:358-61. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Funk ME, Reid CA. Indexing consistency in MEDLINE. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1983;71:176-83. MedlineGoogle Scholar5. Purcell GP, Rennels GD, Shortliffe EH. Development and evaluation of a context-based document representation for searching the medical literature. International Journal on Digital Libraries. 1997;1:288-96. CrossrefGoogle Scholar6. 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Google Scholar18. van Walraven C, Naylor CD. Do we know what inappropriate laboratory utilization is? A systematic review of laboratory clinical audits. JAMA. 1998;280:550-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar19. Crenner CW. Introduction of the blood pressure cuff into U.S. medical practice: technology and skilled practice. Ann Intern Med. 1998;128:488-93. LinkGoogle Scholar20. Clinical Evidence: A Compendium of the Best Available Evidence for Effective Health Care. London: BMJ; Issue 2, December 1999. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Frank Davidoff, MD; Valerie Florance, PhDAffiliations: Corresponding Author: Frank Davidoff, MD, American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Davidoff: American College of Physicians–American Society for Internal Medicine, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106.Dr. Florance: Association of American Medical Colleges, 2450 N Street NW, Room 419, Washington, DC 20037. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThe Informationist Deborah B. Root Jorgensen The Informationist Stephen Sandroni The Informationist Bruce Houghton and Eugene C. Rich The Informationist Michael J. Schott The Informationist Frank Davidoff and Valerie Florance Metrics Cited byDeveloping a Competency-Based Curriculum for Clinical InformationistsPromoting new and expanded roles for librarians and information specialistsTranslating Liaison Librarians to the Scientific CommunitySkills and key education needed for clinical librarians: an exploratory study from the librarians' perspectivesClinical Informationist Services Challenges: A Qualitative Content Analysis of the LiteratureThe Presence of a Clinical Informationist on Ward Rounds: An Action Research StudyHealth Information Work: A Scoping ReviewInformacionista de Pesquisa: oportunidades para bibliotecários na era do big dataAccessTraining for Research Careers in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science Supported by the National Library of MedicineTranslating Clinical Questions by Physicians Into Searchable Queries: Analytical Survey StudyDeveloping Specialized Graduate Curricula for Health Information Professionals: Integrated Findings of a Scoping Review and an Employer SurveyThe clinical informationist as a new member of clinical teamWelServe: The DBMS for Capturing and Tracking Welch Medical Library’s Embedded Informationist Service Delivery at Johns Hopkins Medical InstitutionsInvolving Clinical Librarians in Clinical Settings: Skills, Roles, Advantages and BarriersHealth Libraries and Information Services in Tanzania: A Strategic AssessmentDisaster and Digital Libraries in Developing CountriesThrough the eyes of the Informationist: Identifying information needs of the Breast Imaging Service at a tertiary medical center specializing in cancerA Librarian’s Role in Improving Rigor in Research—AlzPED: Alzheimer’s Disease Preclinical Efficacy DatabaseAn Embedded Librarian Program: Eight Years OnLibrarians in the Lab: Toward Radically Re-Engineering Data Curation Services at the Research CoalfaceBarriers to the use of the library service amongst clinical staff in an acute hospital setting: an evaluationDisaster and Digital Libraries in Developing CountriesA study comparing public and medical librarians’ perceptions of the role and duties of health information-providing librariansIntegrating an Informationist Into Graduate Education: Case Study With Preliminary ResultsA review of competencies needed for health librarians - a comparison of Irish and international practiceEnvisioning the Academic Library: A Reflection on Roles, Relevancy and RelationshipsReferencesResearch Embedded Health Librarianship: The Canadian LandscapeAdapting an Embedded Model of Librarianship, College by CollegeEstablishing a New Clinical Informationist Role in an Academic Health Sciences CenterRetaining students by embedding librarians into undergraduate research experiences‘Personalised evidence’ for personalised healthcare: integration of a clinical librarian into mental health services – a feasibility studyExploring New Roles for LibrariansEvolving academic library specialtiesSustaining Librarian Vitality: Embedded Librarianship Model for Health Sciences LibrariesBoredom among psychiatric in-patients: does it matter?Bridging Paradigms: Hybrid Mechanistic-Discriminative Predictive ModelsHow Work-Related and Personal Motivated Information Needs Shape Trust Towards Government-Sponsored Medical Information Sources?Information professionals' participation in interdisciplinary research: a preliminary study of factors affecting successful collaborationsThe Disaster Information Specialist: An Emerging Role for Health LibrariansHealth education for Somali Bantu refugees via home visitsPlugging the “whole”: librarians as interdisciplinary facilitatorsExpert searching in health librarianship: a literature review to identify international issues and Australian concernsEffectiveness of bibliographic searches performed by paediatric residents and interns assisted by librarians. A randomised controlled trialInformation Needs and Barriers to Accessing Electronic Information: Hospital-Based Physicians Compared to Primary Care PhysiciansTechnology MediatorHospital clinicians’ information behaviour and attitudes towards the ‘Clinical Informationist’: an Irish surveyEvaluating clinical librarian services: a systematic reviewThe Informatics Imperative in Veterinary Medicine: Collaboration across DisciplinesClinical librarians as facilitators of nurses’ evidence-based practiceThe Informationist: Ten Years LaterCompetency-based continuing professional developmentClinical Library Services: Outreach to Enhance Patient CareWelServe: The DBMS for Capturing and Tracking Welch Medical Library's Embedded Informationist Service Delivery at Johns Hopkins Medical InstitutionsA clinical librarian pilot project in psychiatryResearch Support in an Academic Medical CenterInformation Takeout and Delivery: A Case Study Exploring Different Library Service Delivery ModelsHealth Sciences Librarians in Academic Libraries: A Brief Review of Their Developing RoleBuilding PROMIS item banks: librarians as co-investigatorsEvaluation of a New Clinical Librarian ServiceKnowledge Workers, Librarians, and SafetyAnalysis of queries sent to PubMed at the point of care: Observation of search behaviour in a medical teaching hospitalDeveloping research capacity in health librarians: a review of the evidenceInformationist EducationDo bibliotecário médico ao informacionista: traços semânticos de seus perfis e competênciasInformationist programme in support of biomedical research: a programme description and preliminary findings of an evaluationKorean medical libraries and professional associations: changing services and rolesA Randomized Effectiveness Trial of a Clinical Informatics Consult Service: Impact on Evidence-based Decision-making and Knowledge ImplementationBuilding a statewide knowledge network for clinicians in intensive care units: Knowledge brokering and the NSW Intensive Care Coordination and Monitoring Unit (ICCMU)Education for information scienceThe potential role of ILS schools in educating medical informationists 1The perioperative librarian: luxury or necessity?Informationists or Information Specialists in Context (ISIC): six years after conceptionThe education and training needs of health librarians?the generalist versus specialist dilemmaIntegrating Knowledge-Based Resources into the Electronic Health RecordCollaborative information synthesis II: Recommendations for information systems to support synthesis activitiesWhat do clinicians want from us? An evaluation of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust clinical librarian service and its implications for developing futureworking patternsSignposting best evidence: a role for information professionalsOpportunity for change in the future roles for the health library and information professional: meeting the challenges in NHS ScotlandA web-based library consult service for evidence-based medicine: Technical developmentTechnology mediator: a new role for the reference librarian?Use of the Internet by parents of paediatric patientsThe Clinical Librarian/InformationistAdvancing practice inquiry: Research foundations of the practice doctorate in nursingA Clinical Librarian Program at an Urban Teaching HospitalWorking towards the informationistWho are the Informaticians? What We Know and Should KnowLibrarians, Surgeons, and KnowledgeEvidence-Based Resources and the Role of Librarians in Developing Evidence-Based Practice CurriculaFacilitating Patient Centeredness Through Information WorkInformation needs of United Kingdom primary care clinicians1Promoting Informed Choice: Transforming Health Care To Dispense Knowledge for Decision MakingSteven H. Woolf, MD, MPH, Evelyn C.Y. Chan, MD, MS, Russell Harris, MD, MPH, Stacey L. Sheridan, MD, MPH, Clarence H. Braddock III, MD, MPH, Robert M. Kaplan, PhD, Alex Krist, MD, Annette M. O'Connor, RN, MScN, PhD, and Sean Tunis, MD, MScEffect of CPOE User Interface Design on User-Initiated Access to Educational and Patient Information during Clinical CareUndertaking an information-needs analysis of the emergency-care physician to inform the role of the clinical librarian: a Greek perspectiveManaging knowledge to support the patient journey in NHS Scotland: strategic vision and practical realityManaging and leveraging organizational knowledgeLibrarians, Informaticists, Informationists, and Other Information Professionals in Biomedicine and the Health SciencesThe John Eisenberg Lecture: Health Services Research as a Citizen in ImprovementA survey of UK clinical librarianship: February 2004Answering Physicians' Clinical Questions: Obstacles and Potential SolutionsUsing Information Technology To Transfer Knowledge: A Medical Institution Steps Up to the PlateRobert Badgett, MD and Cynthia Mulrow, MD, MSc, Deputy EditorLibrarians as Hidden Gems in a Clinical TeamFellowship Training at Johns HopkinsProviding Evidence-Based Answers to Complex Clinical Questions: Evaluating the Consistency of Article SelectionToward continuous medical educationClinical librarianship in the UK: temporary trend or permanent profession? Part I: a review of the role of the clinical librarianEffect of an evidence-based answering service on GPs and their patients: a pilot studyThe informationist in Australia: a feasibility studyThe InformationistInformationist? Internal Medicine Rounds with a Clinical Medical LibrarianWhy emerging roles for health sciences librarians?Clinical medical librarian to clinical informationistBioterrorism alert: reference and literature support for the CDC Director’s Emergency Operations Center (DEOC) and investigative field teamsPhysicians' Internet information-seeking behaviorsWeb-Enabled Medicine: The Challenge of Ensuring Quality Information and CareUsing Clinical Vignette Assignments to Teach Medical InformaticsClinical librarianship: a systematic review of the literatureThe role of the information specialist in the systematic review process: a health information case studyIncorporating the views of obstetric clinicians in implementing evidence-supported labour and delivery suite ward rounds: a case studyCase Studies from Morning ReportOp zoek naar bewijs; een vraag- en antwoorddienst voor de huisartsFinding your place in the information age libraryPerson-centered approach to care, teaching, and research in fibromyalgia syndrome: Justification from biopsychosocial perspectives in populationsThe Impact of Medical Informatics on LibrarianshipClinical focus and patient management in the XXI century within the context of the advances in medicineKnowledge Resources: Finding Answers to Primary Care QuestionsAplicación de la gestión por procesos a las unidades De atención al usuarioA clinical librarian can support clinical governanceFrom Artisan To Architect: The Specialist And Systems Of Provision Of Diabetes Care In 2001Clinical Medical LibrariansThe InformationistDeborah B. Root Jorgensen, PharmD CandidateThe InformationistStephen Sandroni, MDThe InformationistBruce Houghton, MD and Eugene C. Rich, MDThe InformationistMichael J. Schott, MS, MLSProgress in Health Sciences Librarianship: 1970–2005The Development and Impact of Digital Library Funding in the United StatesUbiquitous Information Therapy Service through Social Networking LibrariesUbiquitous Information Therapy Service through Social Networking Libraries 20 June 2000Volume 132, Issue 12Page: 996-998KeywordsClinical epidemiologyGraduate medical educationHealth careHealth informaticsHealth information technologyInformation retrievalInformation technologyLibrariesPatientsTechnicians ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 20 June 2000 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2000 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

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