Monthly Archive for January, 2009

Free Class: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)

By jen derichemond. Published on January 26, 2009 in General News. Closed Tags: .

An Introduction to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP): A Resource for Medical Librarians
April 23rd at ECRI Institute

HCUP databases can be used to identify, track, and analyze national trends in health care utilization, access, charges, quality, and outcomes — on a nationwide and state-specific databases. (See “About HCUP” at the end of article.)

April 23, 1-4 PM
ECRI Institute Auditorium,
www.ecri.org
To register, email jderichemond@gmail.com

Course outline

Introduction to HCUP Resources (60 minutes)
Overview of healthcare administrative data
Introduction to the 5 main types of HCUP databases
Benefits and limitations of HCUP databases
Discussion about the use of HCUP in medical and health services research

Example Publications Using HCUP (30 minutes)
Review of the wide range of publications that HCUP data have supported, including selected peer-reviewed articles, AHRQ-produced documents, and congressionally-mandated reports.

Break (15 minutes)

HCUPnet – free online tool for retrieving data (45 minutes)
Demonstration of the HCUP free querying tool
(Note: this section of the course will be very interactive)

Other HCUP-related Tools and Resources (30 minutes)
Discussion of healthcare software tools that can be applied to HCUP data to enhance the value of the data
Instruction on where librarians can access detailed documentation about HCUP resources
Detailed overview of the HCUP User Support Website

About HCUP

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP, pronounced “H-Cup”) is a family of health care databases and related software tools and products developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). HCUP databases bring together the data collection efforts of State data organizations, hospital associations, private data organizations, and the Federal government to create a national information resource of patient-level health care data (HCUP Partners). HCUP includes the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the United States, with all-payer, encounter-level information beginning in 1988. These databases enable research on a broad range of health policy issues, including cost and quality of health services, medical practice patterns, access to health care programs, and outcomes of treatments at the national, State, and local market levels.

In Philadelphia, everyone is reading The Soloist

By Gary. Published on January 14, 2009 in General News. Closed Tags: .

The One Book, One Philadelphia project kicks off today with author Steve Lopez speaking free at the Central Library at 7:30 pm.

soloist

The 2009 selection is The Soloist a memoir by Steve Lopez.

Based on the author’s remarkable friendship with Nathaniel Ayers–a homeless, schizophrenic, Julliard-trained musician–this compelling narrative will inspire readers and stimulate programming around its themes of homelessness, mental illness, the redemptive power of music, and the healing nature of friendship.

That’s from the Calendar of Events and Resource Guide (pdf; there’s also an interactive calendar), which details concerts, workshops and discussions across the region through March.

Free PubMed class in April

By jen derichemond. Published on January 12, 2009 in Continuing Education and General News. Closed Tags: , , .

NOTE: These classes will be held at Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Alumni Hall, 1020 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

A free one-day class on PubMed will be offered in Philadelphia on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 and also on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 by The National Training Center and Clearinghouse of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. This full-day class is designed to teach students how to use PubMed® which includes MEDLINE citations. The class also includes an overview of the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®) and its importance as a tool to both searchers and indexers. PubMed® is a free class and is awarded 7.5 MLA continuing education credits. Classes will also be offered on NLM Gateway and ClinicalTrials.gov.on April 13th.

Classes will be held from 8:30am – 5:00pm at
Thomas Jefferson University
Jefferson Alumni Hall, room 311A
1020 Locust St. 
Philadelphia, PA 19107

For information and registration, go to http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/classes/schedule.html

Education & Credentialing Committee Chair, Jeanette de Richemond