Advice from doctors and health advisors will now be written in prescription form as part of a new pilot program launched this week to help patients obtain more understandable information about their health conditions, in particular, diabetes, heart health and depression. The Providence St. Peter Family Practice residency clinic, CHOICE Regional Health Network and the Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater Timberland libraries are conducting the program, called Prescription for Health Information. The pilot will continue through the end of September.

"This is a great service that doctors and our health advisors can use to continue the education outside of the office visit," said Kristen West, executive director of the CHOICE Regional Health Network, which works with patients to improve the quality of their care. "With a written prescription for information, patients can take it to their local library to get the information they need from librarians who have access to resources that are accurate and easy to understand," said West

The program is the result of a collaborative partnership of the Puget Sound Health Alliance, Timberland Regional Library (TRL), CHOICE Regional Health Network and Providence St. Peter Family Practice.

During the pilot program, doctors and other health professionals are using pre-printed pads to write prescriptions for information on topics relevant to the patient’s condition. The three pilot libraries, their locations, phone numbers and hours as well as contact information for TRL Central Reference librarians are also listed. Health care providers will select the topics relevant to a patient’s health condition and refer the patient to the library to learn more. Participating libraries are using "best-of" print and online resources they have compiled on each condition and topic.

The aims of the program include raising awareness among patients about their health and about the availability of accurate and understandable health information at local libraries. The program is also a resource for physicians and other health care providers to offer patients a way to take a more active role in managing their health. It also supports librarians in responding to patrons’ health questions.

"Librarians are trained and experienced in helping people locate accurate and relevant information as well as maintaining their privacy," said Alice Goudeaux, TRL’s reference services supervisor. Library users’ rights to privacy and confidentiality are part of the library profession’s code of ethics, said Goudeaux.

The Prescription for Health Information pilot was launched after the Puget Sound Health Alliance surveyed librarians from six library systems in the Puget Sound region regarding patrons' health information requests. In the survey, completed by about 250 librarians, nearly three quarters said they received requests for health information often or very often. The Alliance also learned that patrons are not always clear about the kind of health information they are seeking, and that librarians support the idea of forging closer relationships between libraries and health providers to help support people’s' health information needs.

Evaluation of the pilot will be based on the number of information prescriptions issued, the use of recommended library resources and a follow-up survey of participating libraries and health care providers. If the pilot is successful, the Alliance will explore expanding the program.

For further information about the Prescription for Health Information program, people may contact the library system’s central reference department at (360) 704-4636, call or visit the Timberland library in Lacey, Olympia or Tumwater, or go to www.trlib.org.