MAC Messages – Number 83

September/October 2000

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Message from the Chair — Highlights from the Executive Board Meeting | It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like MAC … | Hospital Libraries | Welcome New Members! | MAC Nuggets | News from the States | Minority Student Scholarship | Consumer Health Information Electronic Journal Club Begins November 2000 | MAC Messages Deadline | MAC/MLA AHIP Counselors | MAC Officers, Committee Chairs, Editor, and State Reporters

The MAC Executive Board met in Richmond, Virginia on the campus of the Medical College of Virginia on September 15th. Following are highlights of discussion and decisions.

The reports and recommendations of three task forces were discussed.

Financial Planning: This task force report suggests that while MAC finances are not now in disarray, increases in annual meeting costs and MAC business expenses, and decreases in dues income, are causes for concern. The report offered many recommendations, including several concerning financial planning for the annual meetings and methods of accounting for MAC funds. The task force does not now propose a dues increase but suggests that an increase be considered in the near future. Many of the recommendations will be presented at the business meeting in Roanoke.

Because of the concerns about MAC’s annual meeting expressed in this report and during other parts of the meeting, the Board concluded that a Task Force be formed to evaluate the annual meeting, including its finances, location, format, purpose and state rotation. The Task Force report is due next summer.

Strategic Planning: The Board discussed the need for a change in direction for MAC and therefore a strategic plan. It concluded that the drop in membership and the non-renewal rate experienced in recent years, the financial changes in healthcare, and the challenges of hosting an annual meeting all warranted a needs assessment to look at the direction of MAC.

Since many of the goals of the last strategic plan have now become normal operations of the chapter, the Board concluded that that plan is not in need of revision. MAC’s bylaws, Polices & Procedures, and annual goals are our guidelines for chapter business and activities. A new strategic plan, if needed, would point the chapter in new directions, not just confirm its operational practice. The Task Force will abandon its attempt to revise the last plan and go forward rapidly with a needs assessment. Focus groups, library school or MLA resources, or the MAC intern position will be considered when determining methods and resources for the assessment.

MAC Records: The Task Force submitted recommendations for materials to be archived, who is responsible for maintaining and submitting materials to the archivist, and when materials should be sent. The Task Force recommends that MAC appoint an archivist to be a part of the publications committee. The first archivist should work quickly to determine archiving of electronic materials. MAC records needed by MLA will need further investigation. The recommendations were approved.

Committees: All committees carried out their normal responsibilities this year. A motion to increase the term for PDC members from 2 to 3 years was approved. Liaison relationships with MLA were clarified and MAC will name liaisons to the MLA credentialing and membership committees. The Publications committee will undertake a thorough revision of MAC’s Policies & Procedures. Criteria for using MAC meeting registration awards were approved and there were decisions on MAC nominations for MLA awards and for the Chapter Project Award (MACLEND).

Other: MAC goals for 2000/2001 were formulated. They will be proposed at the Annual meeting. New guidelines for the Governmental Relations Committee were proposed and accepted. Discussion about the 2002 meeting in Washington DC ensued. A Washington meeting is problematic from location, cost, member support, and LAC involvement. The Board recommended contacting the Washington members to see if there is interest in having the meeting in Washington. If not, the Board will approach the next in line, which is West Virginia, or consider other.

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Networking everywhere! Are you ready to begin your journey to MAC? Please join us for MAC 2000 : Reaching for the Stars! Final plans have been made for a stellar program you won’t forget. Still not sure if you want to make the journey? Just visit the MAC Web site at http://www.cbil.vcu.edu/mac/events/2000/final_program.html for a look at the final program. One word – awesome! Oops… two more words – information packed!

Don’t know how to get there? Just follow the star on Mill Mountain and you will find Roanoke, Virginia, the Star City. And don’t worry about there being no room in the inn! The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, where the art of hospitality meets the art of technology, is a great place to put your feet up. And I’m talking hospitality! Need a passport? Don’t worry, we will provide one for you at the meeting. Just pack your bags and we will do the rest. This is THE meeting, folks – an event you won’t forget. See you in the Star City!

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JCAHO Survey

Cape Fear Valley Health System was surveyed by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations on August 7 – 11, 2000.

Day 2

On the second day of the survey, during the building tour, the Administrator Surveyor came to the Library. After looking around for a few minutes, he commented about the “nice” physical space and location of the Library. He asked the following questions:

1. Is the Library open to the public? (YES)
2. How do they know about the Library? (LIAISON WITH THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, LISTED IN THE YELLOW PAGES, LISTED ON HOSPITAL’S WEBSITE.)
3. What can they use? (EVERYTHING)
4. What restrictions are placed on the public? (THEY CAN’T BORROW MATERIALS FROM THE LIBRARY.)
5. Can they use medical books if they want? (YES)
   **At this point, he was shown our consumer health collection and I related information about the man who had used the Library the day before. He used the consumer health materials and medical books. I pointed out that we also have computer workstations with Internet access. We had a lengthy discussion about this.**
6. Do you have information about pain management? (YES)
7. How many staff do you have in the Library?
8. What did you do about the fire drill yesterday? (WE ARE ON 2 NORTH, THE CODE YELLOW WAS ON 3 SOUTH, TOO FAR AWAY TO RESPOND. WE LISTENED FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.)
9. How is the Library financed? (FROM THE HOSPITAL’S BUDGET.)

Day 3

On the third day of the survey, the Librarian participated in two group interviews. In the morning the Administrator surveyor interviewed the Department Directors group. He asked the following questions:

1. Explain the strategic planning process in relationship to the budget.
2. Name one hospital program that has evolved from the grassroots.
3. How has the performance improvement process impacted middle managers?
4. How has data analysis been used?
   **Comment by surveyor – In 2003, surveys will be more data driven. The number of survey days will be reduced. A data comparison from Oryx will be used to identify problems as part of the survey.**
5. How has the implementation of corporate compliance impacted the ethical behavior of the organization?
6. How do you do employee performance evaluations?
7. What is the delinquency rate for completion of employee performance reviews?
8. Have any of you participated in a root cause analysis?
   **Comments by surveyor – The root cause analysis structure is a valuable method for problem solving. The healthcare industry needs to be concerned about medical errors. There may be federal legislation about this.**

During the afternoon of the third day of the survey visit, the Librarian participated in the combined Information Management/Closed Chart Review. The Librarian stayed for only the first 45 minutes of the session. The Nurse and Physician surveyors asked the following questions:

1. Can most healthcare professionals access medical records?
2. If a physician wishes to access a record via Internet, can he do it?
3. Does your firewall prevent hacking?
4. What can you do if you suspect someone is trying to hack into the system? Can you identify who it is?
5. How do you deal with inappropriate use of the computer system?
6. Can staff on one unit access information about patients on another unit?
7. Do you use data encryption?
8. How do you provide Internet access for educational purposes? (WE HAVE 3 WORKSTATIONS IN THE LIBRARY THAT CAN BE USED.)
9. A hospital we surveyed last week had a collection of library materials available on the computer for staff. Do you have something like this? (I ASKED IF THE PROGRAM WAS MDCONSULT, STATREF, OR SOMETHING LIKE THIS – WE PLAN TO ADD MDCONSULT.)
10. How does staff use the Internet? (MANY INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS DISCUSSION.)
11. What do you do to ensure the confidentiality of medical records?
    **Comment by surveyor – Changes to the Management of Information Standards for 2001 have been reported in the July and August issues of Joint Commission Perspectives.**
12. May we see the delinquency report for medical records? (THERE WAS A LENGTHY DISCUSSION.)
13. Do you allow order entry by physician? (THERE WAS A LENGTHY DISCUSSION.)

At this point the IM interview was over and the Librarian was allowed to leave.

In Conclusion

The 2000 survey encompassed three changes that may affect hospital librarians. The Administrator Surveyor is no longer involved in the Information Management Interview. However, the Administrator Surveyor may visit the Library during the Building Tour. The Information Management Interview has been combined with the Closed Records Review and the Nurse and Physician Surveyors conduct this interview. The Librarian’s participation is still needed. The Patient and Family Education Interview has been combined with a large Patient Care Interview and the Librarian may not be needed. The Department Directors’ Interview remained on the schedule and was conducted by the Administrator Surveyor. Hospital librarians should participate in this interview. (There was some question about this interview remaining in the survey schedule. See Hospital Libraries column in May/June 2000 issue of MAC Messages.)

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On behalf of the MAC/MLA Membership Committee and all MAC members, I am happy to welcome the following new members to our chapter. We hope they will enjoy their association with the group and that they will take advantage of all the benefits that the chapter has to offer.

Deborah Keene
Health Sciences Library
Allegheney General Hospital
Pittsburgh PA

Jana Allcock
NN/LM Southeastern/Atlantic Region
University of Maryland
Health Science & Human Services Library
Baltimore MD

Pamela Van Hine
American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists
Washington DC

Mary Addy
Virginia Funkhouser Health Sciences Library
Rockingham Memorial Hospital
Harrisonburg VA

Donna S. McCurley
Health Science & Human Services Library
University of Maryland
Baltimore MD

Nancy K. Roderer
Welch Medical Library
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore MD

Tammy L Stewart
Medical Library
Cape Fear Valley Health System
Fayetteville NC

Patricia S. Vaughn
Claude Moore Health Sciences Library
University of Virginia
Charlottesville VA

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Several library associations, including MLA, are opposing the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA). A satellite teleconference, which will provide help on strategies for opposing or amending this legislation in state legislatures, is going to be held on December 13, 2000 1-4 PM (EST). Go to http://www.arl.org/ucita.html for details.

Why should libraries be concerned about UCITA? Simply stated, UCITA is a proposed state contract law that could impact fair use by libraries under the Federal Copyright Law. When one downloads software from the Internet or buys a shrink-wrapped product, one enters into an agreement with the vendor. As stated by ALA, “when a buyer breaks the wrapping or clicks “ok” with his or her mouse, that buyer is entering into a contract or license with terms that may restrict otherwise legitimate uses of the product, such as legally transferring the software or digital works; publicly discussing the product; or providing access to other users [and] the buyer likely does not even know that he or she has agreed to those contract terms. In other words, UCITA would allow an end run around currently legitimate practices under the copyright exceptions for fair use, first sale, and preservation.”

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Maryland

The Welch Medical Library at Johns Hopkins welcomed five new librarians to the staff in October. Newcomers are:

• Catharine Canevari, Education Librarian. Ms. Canevari was previously Visiting Instructional Media Coordinator in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Nicola Cecchino, Electronic Resources Librarian. Mr. Cecchino served as biomedical information specialist, web developer and circulation staff supervisor at the University of Rochester’s Minor Library of the Health Sciences.
• Holly Harden, Liaison Librarian. Ms. Harden brings reference experience from the Engineering and Science Library at Carnegie Mellon and the Health Sciences Library of Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, Va.
• Tina Otter, Reference Librarian. Ms. Otter served as a National Library of Medicine Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Biomedical Informatics and brings experience in clinical librarianship.
• Deborah Thomas, Internet Services Librarian. Ms. Thomas served for 10 years as Library Manager at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center where she initiated and led the effort to develop the Web site and intranet.

Roni Greenberg, Health Sciences Librarian at the Northwest Hospital Center moved to Ohio with her family at the end of August. Janice Mason, formerly of Bon Secours Baltimore Health System, has succeeded Roni at Northwest Hospital.

Darcie Cote-Rumsey, a recent graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park College of Information Studies, is the new librarian at Bon Secours Baltimore Health System.

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North Carolina

Donna Flake, Director of the Coastal AHEC Library in Wilmington, NC, is the MLA Representative to the European Association of Health and Information Libraries. Donna has served in this role for the past six years.

In July, she traveled to London to present two papers at the 8th International Congress of Medical Librarianship. The two papers were entitled, “USA – One State’s Digital Health Information Library: A University and Hospital Library Collaboration in North Carolina,” and “The Cunningham Fellowship: Three International Points of View.”

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West Virginia

Nancy J. Wasson, Head, Access Services, Health Sciences Library, and Carroll W. Wilkinson, Head, Circulation Services and Colson Reserve, Charles C. Wise Library, (West Virginia University) will present a session on electronic document delivery at the West Virginia Library Association’s annual conference in Charleston, WV, November 11/2/00 – 11/4/00.

The HSL at WVU is pleased to welcome Liang Wei, a visiting scholar/librarian, from China Medical University. As part of an exchange program with China Medical University, Liang Wei will spend the year working and studying at the HSL. His special interest is electronic journals.

Mary Frances Bodemuller, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, has agreed to serve as treasurer for the WVHSLA for 2000-2001.

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Virginia

Inova Fairfax Hospital Health Sciences Library has a new librarian – his name is Craig Ginther. He was formerly at US Patent & Trademark Library. Since starting at Fairfax Mr. Ginther has worked on the redesign of the library homepage in addition to providing reference services.

The Health Resources Library of Valley Health System, Winchester Medical Center, has taken another giant leap into consumer empowerment with the second edition of the Health Resource Handbook: Support and Community Groups,2000. This 48-pg. booklet covers support and community health organizations big and small throughout the quad-state region, along the I-81 corridor. Also, featured are the national help-groups and assortment of Web pages we felt that were particularly useful and requested by our patrons. We are proud to send copies of our publication to you, or ask us for your copy when you see us on Friday, October 19, in Roanoke! at the Great MAC Meeting!

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The Medical Library Association, MLA, as the professional association dedicated to improving the quality and leadership of health information professionals, has since 1976 annually awarded a scholarship to a library school student from a minority group. This year the scholarship is up to $5000. The MLA Scholarship for Minority Students is intended to encourage candidates who show excellence in scholarship and potential for leadership to pursue a career in health sciences librarianship and join that special cadre of librarians at the leading edge of information management.

To be eligible for the MLA Scholarship for Minority Students, applicants must be entering an ALA-accredited graduate library program or must have completed no more than half of his/her graduate library program at the time of the award announcement (February). Applicants must be members of a minority group; this is defined as African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander. Finally, applicants must also be citizens of or have permanent residence status in the United States or Canada.

In addition to the scholarship, the recipient of the MLA Scholarship for Minority Students also receives a one-year student membership in MLA and free, inclusive registration at the association’s annual meeting, to be held in Orlando, Florida May 25-31, 2001.

The deadline for applications is December 1, 2000.

For application information please contact:

Medical Library Association
Professional Development Department
65 East Wacker Place, Suite 1900
Chicago, IL 60601-7298

Phone: 312-419-9094, ext. 28

Email: mlapd2@mlahq.org

Online application form: http://www.mlanet.org/awards/apply.html

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The Southeastern/Atlantic Region is hosting an electronic journal club to discuss topics in Consumer Health Information dissemination.

The journal club will run from November to April, and hold monthly discussions of one or two articles. Participants must provide at least two responses in each months discussion thread.

Upon completion of the journal club, participants will receive 7.5 academy points. If you’re interested in joining the journal club, e-mail Jana Allcock at jallc001@umaryland.edu or call 1-800-338-7657.

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Newsworthy items for the MAC Messages November/December issue may be submitted to the editor (macmessages@angelfire.com) until November 15, 2000. Remember to include “MAC” in your subject line.

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