BARRIERS TO RURAL PHYSICIAN USE OF A DIGITAL HEALTH-SCIENCES LIBRARY

Background: Rural physicians need access to quality medical informatio n, but accessing information is difficult in rural settings. Digital h ealth sciences libraries (DHSLs) offer the potential to make informati on more accessible to rural physicians. A telemedicine network was dep loyed to six rural hospitals in Iowa. Computers were installed allowin g access to a DHSL and training sessions were held. The purpose of thi s study was to examine the barriers to use of a DHSL by rural physicia ns. Methods: Approximately one year after deployment of the telemedici ne network, physicians were surveyed using a modified critical inciden t technique. Results: Seventy percent of the eligible physicians respo nded and 33% had used the DHSL. Primary barriers included insufficient training, being too time consuming to use, and distance of computers from physicians' practice sites. Non-DHSL users cited the difficulty o f using the DHSL, as their greatest barrier, while DHSL users cited th e quality of the information resources. Conclusions: This study identi fies a number of barriers that exist to rural physicians use of a DHSL . Potential solutions to these barriers are discussed. DHSLs will fina lly reach their potential when they can be delivered by easy to use ha ndheld computers seamlessly integrated into the rural physician's work flow.