Journal of Health Information Management
Year:2006 | Volume:3 | Issue:1 (5)|Papers Count:11

What is a medical librarian? He provides information about new medical treatments, clinical trials and standard trials procedures, tests and equipment.Where do medical librarians work? They work anywhere health information is needed.What kinds of jobs are available? Web managers, medical informatics experts, chief information officers, cat a logers, instructors and reference librarians.Who are medical librarians' coworkers? Physicians, nurses, health educators and other allied health care professionals. What do I need to become a medical librarian? Masters in library and information science, strong oral communication skills, strong computer skills.What are salaries for medical librarians?Salaries vary according to the type and location of institution, the level of responsibility and the length of employment.Should I become a medical librarian? If you are service-oriented, intrigued by the electronic  delivery of health care information, a carrier in medical librarianship may be right for you.

Introduction: consumers have referred to the web to learn how they can improve their health, prevent disease and learn details about specific diseases. While efforts are being made to monitor information found on the web especially with the emergence of HER: Electronic Health Record in Iran, they are not enough to cover every web site with health information.As a result, it was decided to evaluate health-related web sites in Iran.Methods: It is a cross-sectional study in which first the theoretical principles underlying health-related web sites were examined. Then a macro-model and a checklist were designed for their evaluation. The data collection instruments were validated by experts. Eight Iranian health-related systems were selected and quality audited by the researcher.Results: Findings revealed that the evaluated web sites are not of high quality compared to quality standards and this was mostly apparent in executive health care organizations.Conclusion: comparing the results of this study with similar ones in other countries, it can be said that there are opportunities for enhancing the quality of health-related web sites in Iran.There are also some suggestions in this regard for the stakeholders.

Introduction: The Internet has quickly become a major player in the quest for information. Researchers readily employ the Internet as a tool for information retrieval because it can provide fast access to vast amounts of information from a multitude of sources. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of the Internet in locating information in Najaf Abad Azad University.Methods: It is a survey study in which data were collected by a questionnaire and were analyzed by SPSS using descriptive statistics.Results: It was revealed that the participants used the Internet at an optimum level to update their knowledge about their research interests. In this regard, they employed data banks most commonly.Conclusion: Internet plays a significant role for researchers to locate information so that they use it for compiling and translating books, writing research proposals doing theses.

Introduction: One of the key features of the management system in each organization is the availability of information systems. Comprehensive information systems and their use by different organizational units can enhance the quality of management of the whole organization. In this study, the educational needs of hospital managers were assessed based on hospital information systems.Methods: It is a cross-sectional study carried out in all hospitals (N=33) affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences participated. The data was collected by researcher made questionnaire which was validated by the experts. Its reliability was also examined by cronbach alph (r=86%).Results: The findings revealed that the mean of managers awareness of the web, information systems and alternative approaches were 43.5%, 28.8% and 5.4% respectively.Conclusion: It can be inferred that the managers' awareness of information systems was at "average" level. Thus, managers need to be trained in this regard.

Introduction: The Internet and other digital sources of information are widely used tools for research. Citations allow readers to locate and further explore sources you consulted, show the depth and scope of your research and give credit to authors for their ideas. In this study, documenting electronic sources in journals of medical sciences universities in 1378-81 was investigated.Methods: It is a descriptive study in which the bibliographies of 3723 articles published from 1379 to 81 in journals of medical sciences universities were examined according to a checklist. The validity of the checklist was checked by experts.Results: The findings indicated that there was 0.1%of online documentation. Conclusion: Online documentation in journals of medical sciences universities is used at a very low level which means that the researchers either did not use online sources or otherwise they did not cite them.

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most frequent causes of morbidities, mortalities and increasing cost of health care services all over the world. Diabete's clinical information system which is part of diabete's information management system make it possible to manage this illness. This study aimed at comparing the diabetes clinical information systems in the D.S, Scotland and Finland and presents a model for Iran.Methods: It is a descriptive study in which the current status of diabetes clinical information system in public, pediatrics and specialized hospitals (N=27) were examined by using questionnaires and checklists. Then, diabetes clinical information system in the selected countries were investigated and based on our country's needs, a model was presented by using Delphi technique and it was validated by some experts (n=35).Results: Based on the findings of this study, the researchers presented a model which focused on seven areas including objectives, equipment, executive authorities, data collection methods, data processing and their distribution, and patients' follow-up and summoning. The model was confirmed (98%) after Delphi technique was carried out.Conclusion: it was suggested that diabetes clinical information system be designed and implemented in public and pediatrics hospitals for diabetes management in order to achieve two main objectives in health systems: controlling the quality of healthcare services and controlling their expenses.

Introduction: we can facilitate hospital management and prevent organizational crises by applying quality management principles. Gharazi hospital in Isfahan set up a quality management system in 1380 and in 1381 received ISO 9001, 2000 certificates. This study compared the quality management principles and the quality management system established in this hospital.Methods: It is a cross-sectional study which was performed in 1385. All wards of the hospital in which the quality management was carried was studied. Data were collected by a checklist and a questionnaire. Checklists were made based on quality management standards and principles and questionnaires were made based on ministry of health standards.Results: The findings indicate that what is established in Gharazi hospital based on international standards series 9000 in quality management system was consistent with the eight principles of quality management.Conclusion: Establishing quality management systems in organizations in essential for their improvement but the philosophy of their establishment must be taken into account.

Introduction: Supplementary health care services are provided to offer health care services beyond existing medical services at a reasonable cost to all members. These supplementary health care services contribute to the health and quality of life of the members and therefore membership provides peace of mind and a sense of security. This study aimed at investigating supplementary health care services packages in selected countries and presenting a model for Iran.Methods: It is a comparative study which was carried out from 1382 to 1383. The countries to be studied were selected based on Garden Division model and Delphi technique was used to present a model for Iran. To collect data, a questionnaire was used. Its validity was approved by experts and test-retest was used to confirm its reliability.Results: The main factor that made people use supplementary health care services was that public health care services do not cover all aspects of health care (89%). Among the organizations responsible for insurance, supreme health council was assigned in. charge of approving supplementary health care services (78%). A decentralized organizational structure was proposed executively for supplementary health care systems while they were suggested to be centralized in policy - making and planning (92.5%).Conclusion: Developing a kind of competition between public and private supplementary health care services may have an important role in enhancing the quality of health care services and improving the consumers' satisfaction.

Introduction: Information management system is a formal approach to collect the necessary information in its due time for managers to facilitate decision-making, planning and management. Medical records system which is closely associated with pieces of information and their true value can play an important role in health care organizations. The main objective of this study is to compare information management system of medical records office in Kashani hospital with the existing standards.Methods: It is a case study in which seven people working in admission, statistics, filing and code-making units and the manager's advisor were observed and interviewed in spring 1385.The data were collected by a checklist and a questionnaire whose validity were approved by experts and whose reliability were confirmed based on common accreditation standards of the D.S. healthcare organizations.Results: Findings indicate that registration, collection, retrieval and distribution of information are not based on standards of Canada and the D.S. However, the distribution of information is nearly improving.Conclusion: Lack of congruity of information management system of medical records office in Kashani hospital with the expected standards diverts the direction of the planned activities of this office and therefore, it is necessary to modify information management system of medical records office.

In recent years, work for the information profession has become characterized by fast-paced change and new skills requirements. This transformation has been brought about by the constant emergence of relevant new technologies.In this paper, ICT skills for professionals in developing countries are examined and Nigeria research project is mentioned as an example. One of the important implications of this paper is focusing on free sources of information which makes the self-learning of ICT skills possible.

Knowledge management is a process of using a source of strategic knowledge in organizations in order to find key information and organize and transfer it. Many organizations adopted knowledge management systems to maintain their stability and usefulness. Since there is occupational similarity between informatics experts and librarians, librarians can change to knowledge managers by being informed of the principles of knowledge management. In this article, the important role of librarians and informatics experts in knowledge management systems is explained.