MLA News Selected Articles

March 2001

With the January 2002 issue (volume 90, number 1), the Medical Library Association's premier, peer-reviewed journal will become the Journal of the Medical Library Association. In 1992, the MLA Board of Directors asked that MLA members be solicited for suggestions and advice on changing the name of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association (BMLA). To that end, a survey appeared in the June/July 1992 issue of the MLA News. While the majority of the respondents favored a title change, the survey revealed that there was no consensus about what the new title should be. In May 2000, the current board advised the BMLA editor to appoint a task force to revisit the issue. The task force included representatives from the BMLA Editorial Board, the Publications Committee, and the Board of Directors. The group unanimously agreed that the title should be changed and then discussed some possible titles.

To study trends in the naming of publications, the task force compiled a list of those that had changed from "bulletin" to another title. The list included publications of library and health professional associations, as well associations in other fields. In the past, a number of prestigious journals used bulletin in their names, but today, many of those titles have changed. A number of associations publish an official journal in addition to a newsletter called a bulletin.

Change Reflects True Character
The task force discussed the following reasons in support of a title change. A national, professional association needs a publication with a name that reflects the true character of an official journal—something that sounds more prestigious, substantive, and scholarly.

A bulletin is more commonly defined as a newsletter, news report, announcement, press release, notice, report, or news summary. The use of bulletin may mislead promotion and tenure review committees about the true nature of the BMLA, especially committees with campus-wide representation. Campus and hospital publications that list faculty and staff publications have no footnotes to explain, "BMLA is an excellent, peer-reviewed journal, not an insignificant newsletter." Librarians provide copies of curriculum vitae when working on collaborative grants with non-library faculty, who may discount publications in the BMLA.

Among the possible titles considered by the task force was Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA), because it eliminated "Bulletin" from the title, retained the name of the association, was simple and precise, provided an easy transition in abbreviation and logo, was comparable to other professional organizations like JAMA, and reflected a more serious nature and stature. Task force members also discussed whether "informatics" should be used in a new name but decided it was not comprehensive enough to cover the scope of association activities and could cause confusion with the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). The task force identified a number of potential objections to the name change, such as the time and expense for recataloging and the inconvenience of separated runs. The fact that the name is well established and has more than a ninety-year history was also discussed. However, the task force felt that the case in favor of the name change far outweighed these considerations.

The report was presented to the MLA Board of Directors at the 2001 midwinter meeting. The board agreed with the arguments presented in the report and voted to change the name to Journal of the Medical Library Association. The task force consisted of Nancy W. Clemmons, BMLA senior associate editor, chair; Jim Shedlock and Jim Curtis, BMLA Editorial Board members; Roberta Fitzpatrick, chair, MLA Publications Committee; Joan Dalrymple, MLA Publications Committee member; and Jocelyn Rankin, Ph.D., AHIP, board liaison. Other members of the BMLA Editorial Board also provided suggestions. The full report of the task force can be found on MLANET at www.mlanet.org/publications/bmla/name_change.html.

From the start, some health care providers have envisioned using the Internet to provide services and care to patients. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), a multispecialty medical group of nearly 400 doctors located on six campuses around the San Francisco Bay Area of California, is preparing to launch a new electronic health initiative called PAMFOnline. This “e-health” initiative is the next step in evolving the use of the Internet from a depository of health information to online care of patients.

Reaching this step has been a slow process and required the convergence of a number of technologies. More importantly, it has required that the organization see e-health as the future of providing quality patient care.

During the 1990s, the PAMF Website and electronic medical record (EMR) system grew steadily but separately. PAMF, one of the first medical Websites on the Internet in 1994, has gone from a static site to an almost fully dynamic, databased site. Now, it is changing again in order to offer interactivity to the community, such as class registration, a newsletter, and other health information including reference material from Laurus Health. Epic Systems (www.epicsys.com), the electronic medical record system, is now being fully deployed to the medical staff.

PAMF is testing a set of Web-based services that will offer patients a new way to access their health information and communicate with their health care providers. PAMFOnline will provide a confidential and secure environment for patients to review their diagnoses, medications list, allergies, and immunization history and communicate with their health care providers. A product called MyChart runs PAMFOnline from Epic. MyChart integrates the EMR and the Website to offer content based on patients’ medical needs and provides information approved by the medical staff. It is a system that brings knowledge resources and real patient information together. The goal is to automate services, save time, and increase customer satisfaction. Some doctors even expect that part of their day will be spent having clinical encounters with patients over the Internet.

PAMFOnline is a first step towards the PAMF vision of the virtual medical office. For a demonstration, connect to www.pamfonline.org.

Cultural competency in health care is defined as the development and maintenance of interpersonal and professional skills to increase one’s respect for, understanding of, and knowledge of the differences between patient and practitioner values, lifestyles, norms, beliefs, and opportunities that influence every aspect of the health care delivery system. While there is not yet a single set of criteria for establishing cultural competence, there are many interpretations and models that can offer a conceptual framework. Few would disagree that the first step toward developing cultural competency is self-awareness and the analysis of one’s own values, goals, and stereotypes.