Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1999 Jul-Aug;6(4):332-3.
doi: 10.1136/jamia.0060332.

Use of MEDLINE by rural physicians in Washington state

S J Chimoskey  1 , T E Norris
Affiliations

Use of MEDLINE by rural physicians in Washington state

S J Chimoskey et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 1999 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Studies have suggested that rural physicians do not use MEDLINE to aid their clinical decision making, and yet rural physicians appear to be a group that would benefit greatly from the use of MEDLINE because of their isolation from libraries and colleagues. This study was undertaken to understand why a population so likely to benefit from the use of MEDLINE is not using it. The study confirmed that rural physicians regard colleagues, reference texts, and journal articles as the most important information sources. However, a surprising number of rural generalist physicians in Washington, 40 percent of respondents, use MEDLINE, and most possess the requisite awareness, resources, and ability to use MEDLINE. Of those who use MEDLINE, 70 percent consider it a valuable clinical tool.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Lundeen GW, Tenopir C, Wermager P. Information needs of rural healthcare practitioners in Hawaii. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1994;82(2):197-205. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shaughnessy AF, Slawson DC, Dennett JH. Becoming an information master: a guidebook to the medical information jungle. J Fam Pract. 1994;39(5):489-99. - PubMed
    1. Pifalo V. Outreach to health professionals in a rural area. Med Ref Serv Q. 1994;13(3):19-26. - PubMed
    1. Burnham JF, Perry M. Promotion of health information access via Grateful Med and Loansome Doc: why isn't it working? Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1996;84(4):498-506. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dee C. Information needs of the rural physician: a descriptive study. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1993;81(3):259-64. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms