Medical library access
During most of my clinical career I had an affiliation with a local medical school as a “Clinical Instructor” and then “Assistant Clinical Professor.” In addition to teaching medical students and residents from that institution that rotated through my hospital, it also gave me certain privileges, the most important of which was access to that institution’s electronic medical library. Using that access, even as an “LMD,” I have been able to contribute to the medical literature on subjects of interest to me and to others in my specialty.
Recently, now as an older clinician, I gave up my hospital privileges, although I continue my office practice. Giving up my hospital privileges meant that I no longer qualified as a faculty member—and therefore lost online access to the medical library. Still wishing to continue my medical writing, I have attempted to attain access to the medical literature by special request to that library, by contacting my state medical society, by contacting my national specialty organization, by contacting the department chair at the institution to which I had been affiliated, and by calling the Dean of the medical school to which my hospital was affiliated. Although meaning well, none was able to get me access to an online medical library. Thus, I am greatly hampered in my attempts to do research and to continue to write further papers on those areas in which I have previously published.
Is there no remedy for this? Should all clinicians who “age out” of institutional affiliations no longer be able to pursue research interests? And what about community physicians who have no academic affiliations? Can they not access the latest information they need to practice evidence-based, up-to-date medicine?
It makes no sense to me that access to the latest and most current aspects of medical care should be withheld from any clinician. For every clinician not to have access to such medical knowledge does a disservice to all those practicing medicine who wish to keep up to date and to all patients of American clinicians whose providers are prevented from practicing the best, evidence-based care.
Henry Lerner, MD
Boston, Massachusetts