What's New in the Medical Library

New Books!

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:44:00 +0000

NEW BOOKS----

Cope’s Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen (2010) by William Silen

An updated version of the classic text on the initial approach to abdominal pain.

Call Number :
WI
900
S582c
2010

Critical Care Medicine : the Essentials (2010) by John Marini

The essentials of medical and surgical critical care in an easy-to-read format.

Call Number:
WX
218
M339c
2010

Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care (2009) by Nairah Rasul and Mehmood Syed

From the back cover of the book—this book has been “specifically written with the needs of primary care physicians in mind. It examines the potential causes of common presentations and aims to help the physician differentiate between diseases, using history and examination alone.”

Call Number:
WB
39
R231d
2009

Guidelines for Women’s Health Care : A Resource Manual (2007)

Published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, whose web site describes the text as drawing “from a wide spectrum of sources to define principles of health care and management for diverse types of delivery systems and to outline the role of ob-gyns and other providers in hospital and office practice”.

Call Number:
WA
309
G9
2007

Management of Common Problems in Obstetrics and Gynecology (2010) edited by T. Murphy

Amazon.com’s product review says, “this practical book provides current and effective evaluation and treatment options currently available for the full spectrum of conditions affecting women. In easy to consume, bite-sized chapters, it ranges from diseases occurring during pregnancy and the perinatal period, through general gynecologic conditions from childhood to old age, gynecologic urology, oncology, reproductive medicine and family planning.”

Call Number:
WP
140
M26
2010

Obstetrics and Gynecology (2010) by Charles Beckmann

The revised 6th edition of the ACOG text.

Call Number:
WP
140
O14
2010

Willing and Unable (2010) by Lori Freedman

An Amazon review says, “Willing and Unable explores the social world where abortion politics and mainstream medicine collide. The author interviewed physicians of obstetrics and gynecology around the United States to find out why physicians rarely integrate abortion into their medical practice. While abortion stigma, violence, and political contention provide some explanation, her findings demonstrate that willing physicians are further encumbered by a variety of barriers within their practice environments.
Structural barriers to the mainstream practice of abortion effectively institutionalize the buck-passing of abortion patients to abortion clinics. As the author notes, "Public-health-minded HMOs and physician practices could significantly change the world of abortion care if they stopped outsourcing it."
Drawing from forty in-depth interviews, the book presents a challenge to a commonly held assumption that physicians decide whether or not to provide abortion based on personal ideology. Physician narratives demonstrate how their choices around learning, doing, and even having abortions themselves disrupt the pro-choice/pro-life moral and political binary.”

And if you missed reading two important books from the fairly recent past, we have newly donated copies of:

Guns, Germs, and Steel : the Fates of Human Societies (2005) by Jared Diamond

This book explores how social evolution favored the dominance of Western civilization. The updated edition includes a new afterword about the modern world.

Call Number:
HM
206
D.48
2005

Plagues and Peoples (1976) by William McNeill

This acclaimed work looks at how disease shaped the course of history.

WC
11.1
M169p
1976

Stop by and "check" these out.

New Books and AV Materials

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:22:00 +0000

The new MKSAP 15 Digital 2010(Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program) is here. The program is available on all of the library's computers and on a CD-ROM, which you can check out. It's not kept in our Audio-Visual Cabinet. You'll need to see the librarian to get it.

We have three new books available:

1. The Innovator's Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Health Care (2009) by Clayton M. Christensen. Christensen is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. Christensen is also co-founder of Innosight, a management consultancy; Rose Park Advisors, an investment firm; and Innosight Institute, a non-profit think tank. He is the author or coauthor of five books including the New York Times bestsellers The Innovator's Dilemma, The Innovator's Solution and most recently, Disrupting Class. He also serves as a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

An editorial review at Amazon.com says,

"The Innovator’s Prescription is a comprehensive analysis of the strategies that will improve health care and make it affordable. Christensen applies the principles of disruptive innovation to the broken health care system with two pioneers in the field—Dr. Jerome Grossman and Dr. Jason Hwang. Together, they examine a range of symptoms and offer proven solutions."

This book was donated by Steve Tremain M.D.

The call number is:

WA
540
AA1
C5541
2009

2. Clinical Manual for Treatment of Alcoholism and Addictions (2010) by Avram H Mack, Amy L. Harrington, and Richard J. Frances. Dr Mack is Attending Physician at Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, D.C., and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. Amy L. Harrington, M.D., is Physician at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Richard J. Frances, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York University, New York City; Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey; and Director of Professional and Public Education at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut.

This book provides a concise overview of addiction treatment issues relevant to clinicians who are involved in the care of patients with substance use disorders. In addition to covering specific addictive substances in detail including epidemiology, presentation, and diagnosis, as well as polysubstance abuse and psychiatric comorbidity, the manual also addresses underlying issues related to specific patient populations, such as children and adolescents, seniors, and the mentally and physically handicapped.

The call number is:

WM
34
M153c
2010

3. The 3-Minute Musculoskeletal and Peripheral Nerve Exam (2009) by Alan Miller, Kimberley Heckert, and Brian Davis. Alan Miller, MD is a pain fellow at the Thomas Jefferson School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kimberly Heckert, MD is an attending physician at the Thomas Jefferson School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brian A. Davis, MD is an Associate Professor in the Department of PM&R at the University of California Davis Medical Center.

This is a clear, concise, and accessible reference for conducting a thorough musculoskeletal and peripheral nerve examination in a clinical setting.

The call number is :

WE
39
M647z
2009

Please come check out these new resources.

New Books to Read

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:26:00 +0000

If you’re preparing for the USMLE Step 3, you now have a choice of three texts available in the Library.

First:

Review for the USMLE Step 3 (2010) by Mitchell H. Rosner MD

This book has a question-answer-explanation format with 900 sample questions. It’s organized by clinical setting and has a companion interactive web site.

Next:

First Aid for the USMLE Step 3 (2008)
by - Tao Le, MHS
Vikas Bhusan, MD
Robert Grow, MD, MS
Veronique Tache MD

An editorial review at Amazon.com says this book was “written by residents who passed the boards and reviewed by top faculty”. The book is divided into two sections: a guide to the examination and a database of “high yield facts” organized by specialty.

And finally:

Rapid Review : USMLE Step 3 (2007) by David Rolston, MD and Craig Nielsen, MD

This an outline format book, organized by specialty, with 100 sample questions and answers. There is a companion web site (Student Consult) with more sample questions and feedback.

We also added two books on what is a hot topic now, obesity:

Preventing Childhood Obesity (2005)

This is the report of the Committee on the Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth. An editorial review at Amazon.com says the book “provides a broad-based examination of the nature, extent, and consequences of obesity in U.S. children and youth, including the social, environmental, medical, and dietary factors responsible for its increased prevalence”.

Handbook of Obesity (2008) by George Bray and Claude Bouchard

A book cover description says this is “the premier reference for physicians and researchers in the field of obesity” and “ offers unparalleled depth and breadth of coverage”.

Come to the Library and check out these new resources.

New Book

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:21:00 +0000

We've added another book that was recommended by a member of our staff:

Practicing Excellence : A Physician's Manual to Exceptional Health Care (2006), by Stephen Beeson, MD.

An editorial review of the book at Amazon.com says,

"So much of a medical organization's success rides on the leadership, conduct, and performance of its physicians. How does a health care organization engage its physicians to lead by example? And how does a physician in the midst of 25 appointments, 30 phone messages, hospital rounds, and the details of managing a clinical practice do what needs to be done to foster satisfaction and loyalty among patients? Practicing Excellence eloquently answers these questions. Stephen C. Beeson, MD, has created a brilliant guide to implementing physician leadership and behaviors that will create a high-performance workplace built on collaboration, commitment, purpose, and making a difference in the lives of the patients it serves. "

A couple of back cover comments:

"This is an excellent manual and should be required reading for all physicians."
Floyd D Loop, MD, Former CEO, Cleveland Clinic

"A very practical guide. Addressed virtually all areas of push back!"
Steven Gabbe, MD, Dean, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

You can find the book at:

W
62
B415p
2006

Let me know what you think about it.

A New Book That Could Change Your Practice

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:57:00 +0000

We have a new book in the library, recommended by Linda Nakell, Ph.D. It's Motivational Practice : Promoting Healthy Habits and Self-care of Chronic Diseases (2004) by Dr. Rick Botelho. Dr Botelho is a Professor of Family Medicine and Nursing at the University of Rochester in New York and a family physician.

An editorial review at http://www.amazon.com/ says:

"Reduce your frustrations in working with so-called resistant patients. To help your patients develop healthier habits and enhance their self-care of chronic diseases, discover how to change from a health adviser (giving information) to a motivational guide before enhancing your motivational skills. Embark on a journey of lifelong learning."

A book cover review by Dr I. R. McWhinney, a doctor and noted family medicine textbook author, credits Dr Botelho with "teaching us a new therapy of the word".

You'll find the book at:

WA
590
.B65
2004

Check it out!

New Library...New Books

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:17:00 +0000

It's been much too long since I posted any news.

The Degnan Medical Library has finally moved!!! We're in a remodeled area of the former Specialty South Building (between Administration and the Eligibility Building). It's a great space with plenty of natural light. There are books and journals to browse, computers, a quiet study area and even some comfortable chairs for reading. Please visit our new library soon.

We have some new books recommended by medical staff:

Evidence-Based Physical Diagnosis by Steven McGee (2007)

A review in the Annals of Internal Medicine calls it "enjoyable and very readable...A much-needed addition to currently available books on physical diagnosis...The first compilation to give information on the accuracy of physical diagnostic maneuvers with exhaustive references to the primary studies."

Stahl's Essential Psychopharmacology : Neuroscientific Basis and Practical Applications (2008)

Doody's Book Review Service says "Dr. Stahl's latest edition remains the clearest book covering all the latest advances and developments in psychopharmacology. The method of teaching through illustration and conceptual form should continue to make it very popular".

We've also updated our book collection with two new editions of previously held texts:

Essentials of Family Medicine ((2008) edited by Philip Sloane

and

Manson's Tropical Diseases (2009) edited by G. C. Cook and A. Zumla.

Please drop by to check these out and to see the new library.

New Books

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:27:00 +0000

We have two new books in the Library, one requested by a staff member and one donated.

The first is Primary Care Tools for Clinicians : A Compendium of Forms, Questionnaires, and Rating Scales for Everyday Practice (2005) by Lorraine Loretz. The book cover describes the content as "a unique collection of forms, inventories, rating scales, and measures for primary care providers to use or adapt". An accompanying CD-ROM contains over 200 of the forms in electronic format.

The call number is:

WB
290
L869p
2005

The second book is entitled Overdo$ed America (2004) by John Abramson, M. D. The author is a former family physician on the clinical faculty of Harvard Medical School, where he teaches primary care. A review in Publishers Weekly says that Abramson debunks the myth that new technologies and drugs mean "better health care" and that he "makes a powerful and coherent case that American medicine has gone badly astray and needs a new paradigm-one untainted by profits".

The call number is:

W
84
AA1
A161o
2004

Happy Reading

Audio-Digest now available MP3's for download

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Siegel) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:29:00 +0000

Audio-Digest - now available to all of us via downloadable MP3's....

As an institutional subscriber to Audio Digest, we can now download MP3 format of issues within our subscribed specialties: Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, and Pediatrics. Note that only issues with a publication date after April 2006 are available.

Go to www.audiodigest.org and identify the volume and issue of a presentation from our specialties that you want to hear.

Sign in with: User Name = degnanPassword = library Click on MP3 Casts and enter the volume and issue number. Click on the title.

You can also download the printed material associated with the issue, but can't take pre-tests or post-tests online. This is a great way to pick up those issues that are missing or checked out.

Thanks to Carol Raymond for making these available.

New Books

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:14:00 +0000

We have two new staff-requested books in the Medical Library. The first is:

Ratings Scales in Mental Health (2nd. edition - 2003)
Authors: Martha Sajatovic, M.D. and Luis Ramirez, M.D.

A cover blurb describes it as a "overview of 100+ recommended rating scales for mental health assessment...Rating scales are presented in monograph format and include an overview of the scale, general applications, psychometric properties, references, copyright information, a representative scale-based study, and a sample of the scale."

The call number is:

WM
34
S158R
2003

The second book is:

Management of the Addicted Patient in Primary Care (2007)
Authors: Heidi Pomm, PhD. and Raymond Pomm, M.D.

The cover description says that the book "assists primary care physicians in managing patients with addictive illness." It presents "addiction basics" and helps providers "develop practical skills that can be readily implemented".

The call number is:

WM
270
P787m
2007

Lastest Medical News + Full Text

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:55:00 +0000

You can use one of the library's databases, MDConsult, to get the latest clinical medical news and read the full text of the articles referred to in the news clips. Simply sign up for their email news letter at http://www.mdconsult.com/php/about/107377658-6/pm_newsletter.html

Or, go to http://www.mdconsult.com/php/107377658-6/homepage to subscribe to MDConsult's RSS feed of current medical news.

If you're on campus, you can just click on the news item to go to the full text. Off-campus, you'll need to enter your user name and password. If you don't have a user name/password, contact the Medical Librarian:

Carol Raymond
Voice 925 370-5530
Fax 925 370-5911
Email craymond@hsd.cccounty.us

DynaMed Training

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:19:00 +0000

Here's a notice about free online training for one of our databases, DynaMed:

"Dear EBSCO customer

Did you know that EBSCO Publishing offers free online, one hour training sessions several times each month, on the use of our medical point-of-care products? We know that training reinforces product knowledge and stimulates interest, helping you to get the most out of your EBSCO databases, while meeting the needs of medical professionals throughout your organization. DynaMed training will be held on the following dates, for about one hour per session:
November 3 at 12 noon, Eastern Time (ET)
November 21 at 12 noon, ET
December 5 at 2:00 p.m., ET
December 22 at 2:00 p.m., ET
January 9 at 1:00 p.m., ET
January 26, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., ET

To register, go here (http://training.ebsco.com/training_request.asp), select the desired class from the Which service? drop-down list, and complete the form. Please visit EBSCO's Support Site (http://support.ebsco.com) to learn about all of EBSCO's products, search among thousands of FAQs, or download Flash tutorials, Help Sheets or User Guides."

Evidence-Based Medicine Book

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:53:00 +0000

We have a new EBM resource (Book + CD-ROM) in the library, Information Mastery: Evidence-Based Family Medicine, 2nd edition. The authors are: Drs Walter Rosser, David Slawson, and Allen Shaughnessy.

You can find it at:
WB
110
R828i
2004

A review in SciTech Book News (March 2006) says:

"This resource for residents and practitioners of family medicine describes a practical approach to obtaining the high-quality information needed in order to provide the best care to patients. The focus is on improving information's relevance and validity while minimizing the effort expended in finding it. Sample topics include evaluating qualitative research, using handheld computers, and dealing with pharmaceutical company representatives. The CD-ROM contains the complete text and illustrations, along with 11 bonus chapters describing some methods for teaching the approach to learners of all levels."

Another New Book - Prevention Effectiveness

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:05:00 +0000

We have another new book in the Library. This one was recommended by Nishant Shah M.D. and is entitled:

Prevention Effectiveness : A Guide to Decision Analysis and Economic Evaluation (2003).

The editors are Anne Haddix, Steven Teutsch, and Phaedra Corso. The book "introduces the reader to the concepts of decision and economic analysis" and "applies these methods to public health situations".

It's located in our Public Health section and the call number is:

WA
108
P9614
2003

New Book -- Culture & Clinical Care

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:05:00 +0000

Our patient population is culturally diverse. Here's a new resource that will help you provide care that is responsive to that diversity. It's a book recommended by Dr. Jon Stanger:

Culture & Clinical Care
Edited by Juliene Lipson and Suzanne Dibble
2005
UCSF Nursing Press

This new edition has been updated and expanded to appeal to "all clinicians and healthcare providers". It features information on 35 ethnic groups and includes reference lists for further reading.

You'll find it in our Public Health section. The call number is:

WA
30
L57
2005

PDA's 5/08

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Siegel) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:49:00 +0000

PDA's - Our alum Jonathan Scheffer has an excellent site for free and non-free PDA medical information programs. It serves as a repository for others from around the country. www.meistermed.com. For many of the programs, one needs to have ISilo software on their PDA. Here is a link to his free/non-free programs:

http://meistermed.com/isilodepot/isilo_depot_index_subj.htm

Jonathan teaches a class on how to create PDA files (that one can pass around). We are looking into options to share providers' PDA files and make them available for download to all of our providers. Other paid sites include: www.handheldmed.com and www.pdamd.com

Dynamed Access

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Siegel) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:44:00 +0000

To access Dynamed at work or Home, the best link is:
http://search.ebscohost.com

From Home, use:
User ID: contra
Password: dynamed
Or from www.myhq.com/public/c/c/ccrmc/ site, pick Dynamed under CCRMC resources.

To get Dynamed Weekly Updates (1-5 synthesis of articles that should change your practice), do 20 second sign-up at:
http://www.ebsconewsletter.com/dmweeklyupdate/e_article000696166.cfm?x=b11,0,w
I've been hearing great things from others and been finding a lot of value in this program.

A few great highlights are the Patient Handouts (gives choices from different sources, English and Spanish), straightforward very useful practice info usable while seeing patients, links to Guidelines and Articles, and the weekly updates. We can also give you a code to be able to download to your PDA - just send Carol Raymond or me an email.

CME Corner/Blog 7/7/08

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Siegel) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:26:00 +0000

1) Our CME Program got a 2 year Re-Accreditation!!!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this huge application/site visit - especially David Pepper, Jeremy Fish, Melinda Coby, Heather Wong, Joseph Chase, Nikeya Smith, Danielle Brodus-Zamora, John Lee, Keith White, Jeff Smith, Steve Tremain, Melinda Cody, and our excellent Medical Education Committee. The Institute for Medical Quality have increased the standards substantially in the last few years and we are very happy with this outcome. They were impressed by the breadth of our program, the availability of Distance Conferences, and our movement towards improving evaluation and planning based on the needs of our learners. They are striving for practice/performance improvement as their model for CME - and we will be adjusting our programming in these ways, while also responding to input from the residency and residents for their education. While some of the needs are different, I believe we can serve both the residents and our staff well. To create space for different conferences, we will be making changes to our present programming.

New conferences, ongoing or planned:
Challenging Outpatient Cases (Pepper/Lee)
Performance Improvement (Rael/Pepper)
Resident Journal Club (Carey/Siegel/Pepper/Tzieveli)
Multi-disciplinary conferences (Michele Madlock, Ed & Training)
Case-based (Saffier)

2) Tai Roe and I are starting to work with the IT dept. on developing an ISite area (CCHS intranet http://cchs/) for medical providers and residency information. We will be sending out a survey to get input - but please send your ideas at any time to either one of us for what information you would like to have there. We are trying to make it as easy as possible to get to that information.

CME Corner - Primary Care Procedures DVD in Library

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Siegel) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:40:00 +0000

CME Corner

The Library has a new DVD product: Multimedia Primary Care Procedures (2006). This DVD (plus booklet) was created by Drs. Michael Tuggy, Jorge Garcia, and Gary Newkirk.

It covers procedures in:
Anesthesia
Biopsy
Sutures & Dressings
Needle Aspiration
Dermatology
ENT
Orthopedics
Gastroenterology
Ob/Gyn
Inpatient Medicine

Reproductive Medicine- Male & Female
Urinary

There are two DVDs with the same content. Both can be used on a PC or Mac; one is a high-resolution DVD that can also be used on a television. There is online access with the DVDs, but there is currently no license available for institutional access and the disks specify that they are for "single" users. Dr. Forman will be donating another copy of the DVD to the library, so we will have one more to circulate. If it proves to be a useful resource, we may be able to order additional copies.

MP3 Format for Audio-Digest

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:10:00 +0000

For Audio-Digest Listeners:

As an institutional subscriber to Audio Digest, we can now download MP3 format of issues within our subscribed specialties: Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, and Pediatrics.

Note that only issues with a publication date after April 2006 are available.

Go to www.audiodigest.org and identify the volume and issue of a presentation from our specialties that you want to hear.

Sign in with:

User Name = degnan
Password = library

Click on MP3 Casts and enter the volume and issue number. Click on the title. You can also download the printed material associated with the issue, but can’t take pre-tests or post-tests online.

This is a great way to pick up those issues that are missing or checked out.

Family Practice Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:50:00 +0000

Remember the Family Practice Newsletter? It was a print newsletter produced by Colin P. Kopes-Kerr, M.D. , who's currently part of the Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency program. He has a certain evidence-based, no-nonsense approach to family medicine and is fervent about incorporating relevant research into practice. When we were providing current awareness services through "Project Alert", many staff members asked for copies of the newsletter.

Several years ago Dr Kopes-Kerr switched to an electronic format that he emails to interested people. The library gets a copy which we print and put on our current journals shelf. If you want to read the publication again, you can get it by following these directions:

TO ORDER FP REVOLUTION just send an e-mail to cpkerr@nni.com with "SIGN UP" in the subject line.

If you're not familiar with the publication and want to get an idea of what it's like, check out back issues at:

http://kopes-etichealth.icontact.com/archives/kopes-etichealth

Writing a Journal Article?

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:12:00 +0000

Are you preparing an article for submission to a medical journal? Check out two updated editions in the Medical Library:

AMA Manual of Style : A Guide for Authors and Editors (10th ed. - 2007)
Call Number - WZ 345 A511 2007

The Clinician's Guide to Medical Writing (2005) by Robert Taylor
Call Number - WZ 345 T245c 2005

These books will help you polish your publication.

New Book

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:02:00 +0000

The library has a donated copy of Shannon Brownlee's Overtreated : Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer.

From the book jacket:

"Using vivid examples of real patients and physicians, Overtreated debunks the idea that most of medicine is based on sound science, and shows how our health care system delivers huge amounts of unnecessary care that is not only expensive and wasteful but can actually imperial the health of patients"

Editorial review from Booklist:

"Award-winning health and medicine writer Brownlee notes that Americans spend between one-fifth and one-third of health-care dollars on unnecessary treatments, medications, devices, and tests. What's worse, there are an estimated 30,000 deaths per annum caused by this unnecessary care. The reason for what amounts to a national delusion that more care is better care is rooted, she says, in a build-it-and-they-will-come paradigm that rewards doctors and hospitals for how much care they deliver rather than how effective it is. In a step-by-step deconstruction of America's improvident health-care system, Brownlee sheds light on events, attitudes, and legislation in the twentieth century's latter half that led to this economic nightmare. With the skill of a crack prosecuting attorney, she cites specific cases of physician and hospital fiscal abuse. Her aim is broad but not scattershot as she hits not just docs and hospitals but private insurers, Medicare, patients, medical device manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies by, for instance, quoting a pharmaceutical salesperson who confesses financing a physician's swimming pool to get the doc to write more prescriptions. She is not all bad news, though, for she posits models that could be adapted to create a nationwide health-care system that conceivably could staunch the current fiscal hemorrhaging"

Check it out (literally!)

MKSAP!!

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:53:00 +0000

The MKSAP (Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program) 14 is here.

We've changed format from print to CD-ROM. You can access it from any of the computers in the library or the CD-ROM can be checked out.

Because this is an institutional purchase, you can't get CME credit for the tests you take. Still, it's a great study tool.

March 17, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Degnan Medical Library) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:04:00 +0000

Happy Saint Pat's Day

The Library will now have a blog to keep patrons in touch with new resources and upcoming events in the Degnan Medical Library

Carol Raymond
Medical Librarian