Response to paper by R. Brian haynes, m.d., ph.d.: organizing and accessing the literature (original) (raw)

1989, Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine

IN HIS PAPER Dr. Haynes concentrates on the information needs of clinical end-users. The Harris survey, "The Future of Information Systems for the Medical Sciences," reports on four sets of respondents who might be clinical end-users: clinical scientists (for at least part of their work day), residents, medical students (at certain times), and office-based physicians. It is interesting to note the divergence of opinion expressed in the survey among these groups of clinical end-users, opinions that reflect different experiences and different information needs. I shall confine my discussion to the opinions and needs of one set of clinical end-users, office-based physicians, because Dr. Haynes would agree, I think, that needs are greatest within this group. The survey authors report that office-based physicians are the poorest informed members of the medical community. Office-based physicians read the fewest books. Even if they have access to a medical school library, they are more likely to use a hospital library with a less extensive collection. Fewer than half have used a computerized data base during the past year and most still hold that printed catalogs and indexes are preferable to computerized information facilities. Office-based physicians, like all other respondents, do not regard lack of efficient retrieval systems for appropriate publications as a terribly serious problem and believe that medical school libraries should continue to serve as repositories for all materials of potential scholarly or clinical interest, even if these materials are never used. Also, like most other respondent groups, office-based physicians are overwhelmingly positive in their opinions about *Presented in a panel, Organizing and Accessing the Literature, as part of a Symposium on The Future ofInformation Systems for the Medical Sciences held by the Committee on Medical Education of the New York Academy of Medicine April 25, 1988.