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Edward & Barbara Netter Library

For Medicine, Nursing, & Health Sciences

Patient Education

Welcome

Patient education is a planned activity, initiated by a health professional, whose aim is to impart knowledge, attitudes and skills with the specific goal of changing behavior, increasing compliance with therapy and, thereby, improving health.  Many of the Netter Library's databases contain a section dedicated to patient education materials. Click through the tabs in the box below to learn how to access these patient-focused materials.

For free patient education resources from the web, use the subpage 'Consumer Health Web Resources.'

Patient Education Resources @ the Netter Library

To access patient education materials in AccessMedicine, simply utilize the 'Patient Ed' tab featured in the top toolbar. Patient education materials cover topics for adult and pediatric patients as well as patient-friendly handouts on a wide variety of medications. All patient education materials are available as a PDF download or printout.

Use Care Notes to find Patient Education materials for medications, conditions, procedures, pre-care and discharge instructions. Most topics include materials in English & Spanish. Some topics feature other languages.

To access patient education materials in ClincalKey, click the three dots in the 'Browse' section, found right under the main search box. This will bring up the complete collection of patient education materials available in the database. Materials available in multiple languages will have a box on the right hand side with all available language options to choose from. You can also use the dropdown menu to select Patient Education and search specifically within this category.

UpToDate features patient education materials that are readily accessible right off of the main page. Patient education materials are offered at two levels of content:

  • The Basics are short overviews. They are written in accordance with plain language principles and answer the four or five most important questions a person might have about a medical problem.
  • Beyond the Basics are longer, more detailed reviews. They are best for readers who want detailed information and are comfortable with some medical terminology.

For access, hover your cursor over the content tab on the top tool bar. A dropdown menu will appear that includes a portal to the clinical tool's patient education resources.

VisualDx provides handout material for more than 200 of its top diagnoses. These write-ups have been intentionally written at the 5th grade reading level. The information, written specifically for the patient, can be either emailed or printed right at the point of care. You have the ability to adjust the following options:

  • Whether the information targets a child or an adult
  • The language -- most pages can be switched the Spanish
  • Whether to print or email the information
  • The accompanying image -- you can choose an image that best reflects the patient or, to include to no images at all

To find these materials, look for the 'Information for Patients' option on clinical summary pages.
Note: While not every clinical summary currently includes this option, the list is every growing.