NNLM Network of the National Library of Medicine

Technology Is Changing Medicine.... and Library Service

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced libraries temporarily to close, the virus also created an opportunity for libraries to demonstrate their increasingly important role as partners for healthy communities.

Libraries can play a crucial role in helping their patrons access quality online health information by:

• Providing access to computers and high-speed internet
• Helping users develop the digital literacy skills needed to use the computer (e.g., how to use a mouse)
• Helping users develop the necessary skills to evaluate online health information resources

Instruction

From accessing your personal Electronic Health Record (EHR) to using TeleHealth for a routine medical visit, digital health literacy is increasingly integrated into our everyday lives. Visit NNLM All of Us Digital Health Literacy and NNLM All of Us Learn Internet Skills to discover resources, including digital health literacy training curricula and courses, to help individuals in your community become more skilled and knowledgeable technology users.

Infographics

Download, print, and share facts.

• ​There's an App for That
• Detecting Reliable Health Information Online

Internet

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports that more than 21 million Americans lack broadband access, and Pew Research reports that 77 percent of Americans without Internet access depend on libraries. So it was fortunate that when libraries closed due to the pandemic, they did not stop providing this essential service. Libraries extended remote access coverage outside the building. While sitting in a parked vehicle or on a park bench, communities continued to access free WiFi to complete homework or upload job applications.

Wearable Devices

If you thought libraries only loaned books and DVDs, think again. Library of Things often includes health technology such as Fitbits. Learn how libraries are incorporating wearable devices into their health outreach programs: Summit Fitbit Cohorts, Capital Area District Libraries, and Huron Public Library.

"From Fitbits to Apple Watches, patients are generating a significant amount of data on wearables, and the use of wearables is anticipated to increase nearly 25 percent by 2026..." Source: Medical Technologies in 2020: The Top Innovations for Clinicians. By Debra Wood, RN, contributor. StaffCare. Dec 19, 2019

3D Printing

CreativeMaker Spaces in public libraries were enlisted for the emergency manufacture of face shields that were in short supply during the COVID-19 outbreak. Using 3D to Make PPE: Library resources help create much-needed face shields by Cass Balzer. American Libraries. April 3, 2020. The Columbia University Libraries even created an online resource, ​Guide and Design for Rapidly Produced Face Shields.

Book

Medicine has become inhuman, to disastrous effect. The doctor-patient relationship–the heart of medicine–is broken: doctors are too distracted and overwhelmed to truly connect with their patients, and medical errors and misdiagnoses abound. In Deep Medicine, leading physician Eric Topol reveals how artificial intelligence can help. AI has the potential to transform everything doctors do, from notetaking and medical scans to diagnosis and treatment, greatly cutting down the cost of medicine and reducing human mortality. By freeing physicians from the tasks that interfere with human connection, AI will create space for the real healing that takes place between a doctor who can listen and a patient who needs to be heard. 

Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again | Eric Topol | Basic Books | 2019 | 400 pages | ISBN: 978-1541644649 | WorldCat

Author

Eric Topol, MD, is a leading cardiologist who has embraced the study of genomics and the latest advances in technology to treat chronic disease. Professionally, he is the Founder and Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California, Chief Academic Officer for Scripps Health, a Professor of Genomics at The Scripps Research Institute, and a Senior Consultant at the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at Scripps Clinic. He also is editor-in-chief of Medscape and theheart.org and the author of several bestselling books on digital health care. Biography

Article

Telemedicine is Essential Amid the COVID-19 Crisis and After It, by Eric Topol, MD, Guest Contributor. The Economist, March 31, 2020

Interview

Book

Written with a rare combination of compelling stories and hard-hitting analysis by one of the nation’s most thoughtful physicians, The Digital Doctor examines healthcare at the dawn of its computer age. It tackles the hard questions, from how technology is changing care at the bedside to whether government intervention has been useful or destructive. And it does so with clarity, insight, humor, and compassion. 

New York Times Science Bestseller

The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age | Robert Wachter, MD | McGraw Hill Education | 2017 reprint | 352 pages | ISBN: 978-1260019605

Author

Robert Wachter, MD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He coined the term "hospitalist" and is considered the father of the hospitalist field, the fastest-growing medical specialty in modern times. He is past president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and past chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine. In 2015, Modern Healthcare magazine named him the most influential physician executive in the U.S.

View Robert Wachter, MD UCSF Profile

Book

We live in a world where data can help us make more informed decisions about how to navigate traffic, who to date, what to buy, who to network with, and how to better manage our finances. But when it comes to our personal health and wellness, we have no roadmap. We need something to show us where we are in terms of our health, with landmarks for risks and opportunities. A GPS that makes it easier to move toward our personal health goals. A new way to look at health and life. The future of healthcare is coming. This is what it looks like.

The Future of Health Care: Humans and Machines Partnering for Better Outcomes | Emmanuel Fombu, MD, MBA | Athena Publishing | 2018 reprint | 296 pages | ISBN: 978-0692122969

Author

Emmanuel Fombu, MD, MBA, is a physician, author, speaker, and healthcare executive turned Silicon Valley entrepreneur. The 2017 winner of the prestigious New York City Health Business Leaders Boldest Digital Health Influencer Award, Dr. Fombu holds an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business and certification in artificial intelligence from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. He serves as an external advisory board member on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MIT.nano project and lives in New York City.​

Official Website of Emmanuel Fombu, MD, MBA