The Rural Assistance Center and the National Rural Health Resources Center recently announced the release of an online health IT toolkit aimed at helping rural health care providers plan and implement health IT projects.

HHS’ Office of Rural Health Policy provided funding to support the development of the online toolkit (AHA News, 1/27).

Toolkit Details

The toolkit offers resources on:

• The planning, setup, implementation and maintenance of health IT systems;
• How to find health IT training programs, management expertise and funding support; and
• The meaningful use program.

Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.

Goals of Toolkit

The toolkit aims to help rural communities:

• Address hurdles to raising capital for health IT projects;
• Improve community college-based health IT training programs;
• Obtain federal resources to support health IT initiatives; and
• Stay informed about health IT policy (RAC release, 1/26).

Read more:  http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2012/1/31/groups-release-online-health-it-toolkit-for-rural-health-providers.aspx#ixzz1lAGwQOUr.

National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) University is back in session.  The new Spring 2012 semester kicked off February 1^st.  The NeHC University will welcome Gwenn Darlinger, Project Manager at Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, to lead another installment of HIT Orientation, a comprehensive introduction to health IT in under two hours!

The HIT Orientation program will provide students with an introduction to HITECH, ONC initiatives and a high-level view of the current HIT landscape in the U.S.  This class is designed for stakeholders who are new to the HIT field, new to NeHC University, or just need a refresher on some of the HIT basics.

• Register and join NeHC University’s HIT Orientation
• Learn more about NeHC University programs and the new Spring 2012 semester

ALA is offering a two-session online workshop “Integrating iPads and Tablet Computers into Library Services.”  The workshop includes examples of uses and policies from a few libraries, reviews of the apps that libraries are using, and reviews of the hardware options.  Even though the workshop does not have a health sciences focus, previous attendees recommend it highly.

More details:  http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=3495&zbrandid=4634&zidType=CH&zid=9884810&zsubscriberId=1026633937&zbdom=http://ala-publishing.informz.net

Posted January 12, 2012:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/jf12/jf12_hsr_pm_queries.html.  NLM Technical Bulletin 2012 Jan-Feb; (384):e4.

You may be interested in a new resource called the DMPTool (https://dmp.cdlib.org/).  Using the DMPTool templates and guidance, your researchers can:

• Create ready-to-use data management plans for specific funding agencies
• Meet requirements for data management plans
• Get step-by-step instructions and guidance for data management plan
• Learn about resources and services available at your institution to fulfill the data management requirements of their grants

Several universities and organizations are developing the DMPTool, led by the California Digital Library and the University of Virginia Library’s Scientific Data Consulting Group (SciDaC) (http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/brown/data/).

Mark these dates in your calendar and join us for the following workshops…

January 17th:     Patient Safety Resource Seminar: Librarians on the Front Lines

(Online: Jan. 17 – Feb. 17, 2012)

February 6th:     Beyond an Apple a Day: Providing Consumer Health Information at Your Library

(Online: Feb. 6 – Mar. 9, 2012)

February 9th:     Super Searcher: Enhancing Your Online Search Super Powers

(Online: Feb. 9 – Feb. 23, 2012)

The Disaster Information Specialist monthly meeting is open to all and may be attended in-person or by Adobe Connect.   The meeting will be held Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET.

We will be launching and demonstrating the NEW National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Management Research Center’s topic page “Disaster Apps and Mobile-Optimized Web Pages” at the meeting.  As part of the launch, the meeting will feature a presentation on disaster-related mobile tools and apps by NLM’s Siobhan Champ-Blackwell and Jamie Peacock.  They will cover some of the basics of mobile technologies, including the difference between an app and a mobile-optimized Web site.  They will also highlight some of the most useful apps and tools to have on a mobile device prior to/during emergencies and disasters.

** This meeting will be held using Adobe Connect **

To join the meeting at 1:30 pm ET, Thursday, January 12 click on:  https://webmeeting.nih.gov/disinfo.

Enter your name in the guest box and click  “Enter Room.”  A box should pop-up asking for your phone number.  Enter your number and the system will call you.
For those who cannot use the call-back feature, the dial-in information is below.
Dial-In:  1-888-757-2790
Pass-Code: 745907
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If you have never attended an Adobe Connect meeting before:

• Test your connection: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

• Get a quick overview: http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview
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** OR, if you can attend the meeting by joining us in our offices at 6707 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda, MD, Suite 440. Park in the visitor’s parking lot (we will validate your parking), walk to the middle building (Democracy Two) and take the elevator to the 4th floor. Suite 440 is around the corner behind the elevators.**

Elizabeth Norton, Librarian
Disaster Information Management Research Center
Specialized Information Services Division
National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892-5467
nortone@nlm.nih.gov

We are pleased to announce that you can now access the presentations from the November 30, 2011, workshop on Repositories in Science and Technology from the CENDI website.  The following is the URL to take you directly to the posted agenda from which the presentations and bios are linked.  We also posted the attendee list (revised per no shows and last-minute attendees), which is also linked from the agenda.

It was a very successful workshop with a sizable number of staff from CENDI agencies in attendance.  At the January 12 meeting, we hope to have an analysis of the completed evaluations that were collected following the workshop:  http://cendi.gov/activities/11_30_2011_CENDI_NFAIS_FLICC_post.html.

December 1^st is coming fast.  Here’s a reminder in the Technical Bulletin on this important topic:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd11/nd11_gateway_transition.html.