The goal of this proposal is that providers and patients will use Internet access to medical information in the clinical setting in order to improve patient/provider communication, informed clinical decision-making by both patients and providers, and clinical efficiency. By ready access to digital medical libraries through the Internet, practitioners will be able to practice Evidence-Based Medicine in order to more effectively and efficiently treat patients. Practitioners will use computers and Internet access to more appropriately demonstrate information to patients during the clinical visit. Additionally, lnternet access to health information in the reception area of the clinic will allow patients to be more empowered in their health care and more informed in their health decisions. In order to accomplish this goal, La Clinica del Pueblo requests funding from the National Library of Medicine to purchase computer hardware and software for examination rooms, the reception area of the clinic, and in practitioner office spaces, as well as to provide internet access to those computers. La Clinica proposes to place laptops in all exam rooms to facilitate access to and sharing of medical information during patient visits and place computers in the provider resource t chart room and offices to allow access to clinical evidence for provider decision-making, charting, etc.By providing this access, La Clinica expects to accomplish the following objectives: 1) Patients and providers will engage in information sharing through use of the Internet during the clinic interaction in order to make informed health decisions. This process is both empowering to the patient, as well as effective in improving patient/provider communication. 2) In the resource / chart room and offices, providers, residents, and medical students will access up-to-date medical information over the Intemet in order to make informed, evidence-based decisions about patient care. 3) Patients will access health information via the Internet while waiting in the reception area of the clinic, and 4) staff will receive training and technical assistance on the use of computers to access health information.
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