Evaluating Patient Information Prescriptions

The goal of this research is to evaluate IRx, to provide enough data so care organizations can decide whether to implement this in their own environment. To that end, our specific aims are: 1. To evaluate the impact of IRx on patients. We are performing a randomized clinical trial, comparing IRx with standard provision of information. The primary outcome is patient satisfaction. 2. To evaluate the impact of IRx on providers. As part of the trial, provider perceptions and behavior will be assessed. 3. To evaluate the impact of IRx on the health-care system. As part of the trial, costs entailed and resources utilized will be assessed. 4. To evaluate how IRx generalizes across service environments. The trial will be performed in two environments: adult breast cancer and neonatal intensive care. At the heart of this proposal are the randomized clinical trials. In each, patients in both intervention and control groups will receive standard clinical care in their clinic visits. Patients randomized to the intervention group will receive information services from a specially trained librarian; patients in the control groups will receive routine, current information provision. For Aim 1, immediately after their clinic visits and four weeks later, all participants will report their satisfaction on a survey that include measures of patient-provider communication. For Aim 2, participating providers are surveyed for their perceptions of information needs being met and about patient-provider interaction. For Aim 3, costs of care and costs of providing the IRx environment will be tabulated.