Problems with access to some electronic journals

Due to a supplier problem, electronic journals hosted on EBSCO's EJS service are not currently available. EBSCO are currently looking at the issue and we hope that they will have it resolved shortly.

Other electronic content and full text journals on the CINAHL databases are still working as normal, as is all electronic journal content from other suppliers.

In the mean time if you need to get hold of a journal article and can't access it online, let us know and we will try and source it for you. 

Health and care apps & tools directory advance preview

This is the alpha version of the Health & Care Online Tools Directory, which will be launched by the NHS Commissioning Board in early 2013. This will provide a trusted directory of online tools for the public and care professionals.

Covering more than just apps for smartphones or tablets, the directory also includes software that is accessed and run through a standard web browser.

All featured tools will have appropriate medical safety and quality vetting, with users (both care professionals and the public) being able to rate and comment on the usefulness of individual online tools.

As it is an alpha site, a lot of content is still to come, but you can see some of the tools already listed by clinical condition. For example:

• Cancer
• Diabetes 
• Mental health  

The NHS Commissioning Board are also very keen to have feedback on the site as well as suggestions for apps or other tools to include. You can contact them at: tools.feedback@nhs.net

All the Libraries are open today

#Snow #Northamptonshire, a photo by thesordidsentinel on Flickr.

All our Libraries are open today as normal.

Eyes on Evidence - January

Eyes on Evidence is a free monthly e-bulletin from NHS Evidence which covers significant new evidence as it emerges, with an explanation about what it means for current practice.

 
The articles also contain hyperlinks to relevant articles, NHS Evidence and NICE guidance.

 
   In this month's issue:

• Preventable deaths due to problems in care in English acute hospitals

• Evaluating mandatory restrictions on trans fatty acids

• Disease recurrence and survival in node-negative colorectal cancer

• Increasing support offered via a national quitline does not improve quit rates  

• Benefits of drug therapy are unclear for mild hypertension 

From the QIPP Case Studies Collection:

• Improving histopathology management by establishing a 7-day turnaround time 
• Using teledermatology for diagnosis, triage and effective care

 

To view the latest edition, browse the archive or subscribe by email, visit www.evidence.nhs.uk/about-us/publications

The NHS Change Model Twitter Club

NHS Change Model

The NHS Change Model is a framework for change to help NHS commissioners and providers improve how they go about improvement and deliver NHS goals for quality and value through a common language for change. There is a video on the site that offers an introduction to the model.

The Twitter Club is a regular fortnightly conversation for anyone interested in the Change Model and will be used to help further develop it.

The Twitter Club operates on Wednesdays between 4 and 5 pm and uses the hashtag #NHSchange.

If you are unfamiliar with Twitter, the club page provides an overview on how to set up an account and get started, as well as how to join in the conversation. You can also take the Twitter Tour!

The next event is on Wednesday the 16th of January and the discussion will be on "How can we use and share information to drive change and transformation"

Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too!

New stock and books on approval

We have taken delivery of a new collection of books on approval. Our on approvals scheme enables library users to review a selection of new titles covering a broad range of clinical and non-clinical topics and recommend any that they think it would be useful for us to stock.

The books are available to view at the Berrywood and Richmond libraries and will be available to view until Friday the 1st of February. 

For further information please see the full list of the titles (arranged by topic). Of course, if you have other recommendations for items you think we should stock we are always happy to receive them.

If you want to see what we have added to stock, you can also find a list of recent acquisitions on our web site, and of course, you can find all of our stock on our catalogue.

Web site of the month: The NNT - quick summaries of evidence

The NNT is a web site offering summaries of evidence of treatments and diagnostics. The difference with this site is the summaries use NNT - Number Needed to Treat, to assess the likely benefits or harms of a particular intervention.

NNT is "a measurement of the impact of a medicine or therapy by estimating the number of patients that need to be treated in order to have an impact on one person"  There is a handy tutorial video, which you can see below that offers a clear explanation of the concept produced by the site.

Summaries of evidence are listed by speciality and system, as well as being fully searchable. They are based on evidence from Cochrane systematic reviews and published randomised controlled trials. The summaries are very clearly set out showing exactly how beneficial an intervention is based on NNT.

NNT summary for use of steroids in asthma

The site also features a blog which reviews the latest research trials as well as offering comment on the use of evidence in practice.  There is a section which clearly explains how the NNT site methodology is used in producing the evidence summaries and a quiz which allows you to rate the effectiveness of interventions and compare it with the NNT rating.