Best Practices in Affordable Care Act

Information ActivismEmily Vardell, MLS

@evardell #mlanet15

Medical Library Association Annual Conference

May 18, 2015

Call to Action #1At the 2013 American Library Association Conference President Obama requested

assistance from librarians in ACA implementation

Call to Action #2The Institute for Museum and Library Services:

“ethical mandate rather than a government regulation” to assist with providing a “face to

government rules and resources” (p. 7)

Goldsmith, F. (2014). Libraries and the Affordable Care Act: Helping the community understand health-care options. Chicago, IL: American Library Association Editions.

Study Design

Qualitative and quantitative survey (distributed through

popular health sciences librarian listservs)

222 survey responses

THEN

Semi-structured interviews using critical incident technique with

selected survey respondents

10 interviews

Preliminary Survey ResultsQuestion Demand by Library Type (n = 222)

http://tinyurl.com/ACAposter @evardell

Preliminary Survey ResultsNumber of Reference Queries (n = 48)

http://tinyurl.com/ACAposter @evardell

Preliminary Survey ResultsType of Patron by Library Type (n = 49)

http://tinyurl.com/ACAposter @evardell

Preliminary Survey ResultsThe Two Types of Most Frequently Reported

Reference Interview Exchanges

http://tinyurl.com/ACAposter @evardell

Semi-Structured Interview Guide

• First, could you tell me a little bit about the library that you work in and your role there

• Now, could you tell me a little bit about your experiences meeting Affordable Care Act and/or health insurance information needs?

Semi-Structured Interview Guide: Critical Incident Technique

• Can you please describe one of the ACA/health insurance reference questions you responded to?

• Probing questions focused on the patron, the medium (e.g., face-to-face, email, phone, etc.), recommended resources, and how the recommendations were conveyed.

Best Practice Profiles

http://tinyurl.com/ACAprofiles

@evardell

Kay Hogan Smith: Information Mediator

Profile at a glance

Builds partnerships with public librarians and community orgs

Assists public librarians seeking authoritative resources

Emails notices about training opportunities

Locates information on coverage tiers, refers to community clinics

Assists faith-based organizations with setting up enrollment events

Community Services Librarian and Director of Health InfoNet of Alabama

Mary Ellen Nolan: Programming Host

Profile at a glance

Proactively builds connections with relevant organizations

Collects relevant literature

Provides a space for both individual help and group programming

Invites authoritative speakers to present

Consumer Health Librarian

Michele Malloy: Research SupportProfile at a glance

Provides one-on-one assistance to patrons

Encourages the use of a multitude of resources, including grey literature, to research insurance-related topics

Uses clinician contacts for help with terminology and clarifying questions when needed

Research Services Coordinator

Lisa Kilburn: Presentation SupportProfile at a glance

Locates authoritative ACA information in a systematic manner

Stays current on health care policy through email alerts and reviewing top-quality literature

i.e., the “Health Policy and Reform” and “Medicine and Society” sections of the New England Journal of Medicine

Information Resource Specialist

Paul Levett: Embedded Clinical Support

Profile at a glance

Attends case study tutorials

Encourages students to consider medication pricing with different types of insurance coverage

Promotes the institutional repository as a method of hosting institutional ACA researchReference and Instruction Librarian

Michelle Kraft: Librarian Advocate

Profile at a glance

Teaches continuing education classes on ACA for hospital librarians

Advocates for demonstrating the impact of libraries on hospitals budgets, admission rates, and other ACA-related measures Senior Medical Librarian

Future OpportunitiesWhat are the possibilities?

YOU

Future OpportunitiesParticipation in Training on ACA/Health

Insurance Information

“No, but I would have liked to have

had some training”

COMING SOON

Questions?Do you have a story to tell?

Email me!

Emily Vardell, MLS @evardell

evardell@unc.edu

Presentation available at: http://tinyurl.com/ACAprofiles