Click , click quick an electronic acute services current awareness service for the NHS

1
Click , click quick an electronic
acute services current awareness service for the
NHS

• Janet Harrison and Samuel Nikoi
• Department of Information Science, Loughborough
  University, UK.

2
The NHS in the UK

• The Patients Charter 1992
• Clinical Governance 1998
• The New NHS Modern and Dependable 1997

3
The NHS in the UK

• Evidence Based Medicine
• Continuous Professional Development
• Corporate Responsibility

4
Acute Services Current Awareness Service (ASCAS)

• ASCAS - Initiative to address Clinical
  Information Needs within Acute Trust.
• Launched August 2004, during UK National Health
  Libraries Week
• Web-based information service
• Multi-disciplinary
• Monitors over 150 key websites via RSS feed

5
Aims and Objectives of ASCAS

• Aim To improve and enhance access to high
  quality resources for academic and NHS staff and
  students
• Objectives
• Identify relevant content in consultation with
  health professionals
• Improve cross-institutional collaboration between
  NHS and HE
• Complement services provided in other subject
  disciplines

6
Aims and Objectives of ASCAS

• Objectives
• Facilitate independent access to information 24/7
• Enhance role of information professionals in
  supporting the NHS workforce
• To promote the service via several websites

7
ASCAS Subject Coverage

• Health news
• New Reports and Guidelines
• New Research and Development
• Continuing Professional Development
• Medicine
• Surgery
• Women and Children
• Nursing
• Diagnostics and Allied Health

8
Study Objectives

• To determine the users of the service
• To establish the subject headings most popularly
  used
• To determine the motivation for the use of the
  service
• To assess the relevance and level of satisfaction
  of the service.
• To gain some insight about reasons for non-use of
  the service
• To determine areas of possible future
  improvement.

9
Research Methods

• Survey method
• First Strategy Questionnaire delivered
  electronically
• Email sent out by P.A of the Chief Executive at
  Q.M.C
• Questionnaire cascaded down to other members of
  staff
• Second Strategy Questionnaire emailed directly
  to known contacts

10
Study Results

• Background of respondents
• Consultant Neurologist 
• Head Occupational Therapist
• Consultant Surgeon 
• Head of Continuing Professional Development 
• Senior Nurse
• Consultant Physician

11
Study Results - Usage

• Service Usage

12
Study Results - Usage

• I have logged on to the website once and had a
  quick look around, thought it was interesting.
• It is a system for alerting people to have
  information that they may be interested in and
  may be relevant to what they do professionally.

13
Study Results - Access

• Non-Use

14
Study Results

• Access
• I dont use it at the moment because I do not
  have a clear and an easy path to get to it.
• There are computers on the wards, but we cannot
• use it for internet access, we really
  struggle
• I looked thought it was not too useful to my
  role as a consultant.

15
Study Results

• Alternative Sources of information for Non-Users

25 Own Journal
18 Consult colleagues
18 Seminar, Workshop, Conference
12 Subscription to alerting service
12 Monitoring websites
9 Academic and NHS library
6 Email distribution list
16
Study Results Other Sources

• If I want to keep generally up-to-date Igo to
  meetings, national and international meetings in
  my own specialty area.
• Personally I only read the journals I subscribe
  to.
• If Ive got a questionmy first point of call
  for scientific medical literature would be
  PubMed
• Mostare members of national network and receive
  daily email alerts / news.

17
Study Results Future Expectations

• I would like to see...on the ward rounds a
  laptop having access to patients record / the
  internet we cant get it to the patient bedside
  its ridiculous.
• On a personal level what would be nice, is in
  three months later a problem arises and for me
  to be able to interrogate the last six months
  alert.
• There is something about going to a single point
  of reference and being able to work your way
  through.

18
and finally Recommendations

• Optimum balance between generalist and specialist
• Develop clinical information champions
• Website visibility through marketing and
  promotion
• Develop guidelines for up-dating website
• Archiving Policy
• Expand search functionality
• Establish multiple access points
• Address the question of cross-institutional
  access