The effectiveness of interruptive prescribing alerts in ambulatory CPOE to change prescriber behaviour & improve safety.

Background: Prescribing alerts of an electronic health record are meant to be protective, but often are disruptive to providers. Our goal was to assess the effectiveness of interruptive medication-prescriber alerts in changing prescriber behaviour and improving patient outcomes in ambulatory care settings via computerised provider order entry (CPOE) systems.

Methods: A standardised search strategy was developed and applied to the following key bibliographical databases: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and The Cochrane Library.

Library Space: Assessment and Planning through a Space Utilization Study.

The objective of this article is to describe the recent space and furniture utilization study conducted through direct observation at the small, academic-centered Schusterman Library. Student workers from the library's reference desk monitored two semesters of use and went on to observe a third semester after electrical power upgrades were installed. Extensive use details were collected about where library patrons sat during which parts of the day, and certain areas of the library were ultimately identified as much more active than others.

Focused library instruction for occupational therapy, physical therapy, and respiratory care students and faculty: library instruction in allied health.

The integration of librarians into allied health programs presents many exciting opportunities for collaboration. This column will describe how a library instruction program is integrated into the occupational therapy, respiratory care, and physical therapy curricula at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The allied health faculty have welcomed and recognized the librarians' expertise in teaching evidence-based practice and library research skills.

New "starting points" for resources by subject.

The objective of the Starting Points Web page series at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT HSC) Libraries is to provide specialized information resources in an organized online format. Highlighted resources include databases, journals, UT HSC campus information, funding sources, PubMed RSS article feeds, and information about professional associations. This paper discusses the development process, planning, challenges, and outcomes of the Starting Points series.