Have a health-related question? Ask a Librarian
Area L AHEC Library Services are provided via our virtual reference desk.
Staff are available to:
- search the healthcare literature for you
- arrange interlibrary loans
- retrieve articles
- teach individual or group classes that will enhance your/your team’s search skills
There is no charge for the majority of the library services that we provide to healthcare professionals. If obtaining your requested articles or books will incur a fee, the charges will be passed on to you. We will inform you of costs prior to filling your request.
For more information, email Monique Mackey.
Resources
The AHEC Digital Library (ADL) is a statewide electronic network of resources gathered to support NC healthcare professionals in obtaining current information. The ADL includes collections of specific health specialty resources with access to full-text journals and textbooks and searchable databases, including Medline, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Collection of Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews.
There Are Several Ways to Access the ADL:
A free version with limited access to resources is available to all individuals at http://library.ncahec.net.
Nash UNC Health Care has purchased institutional ADL memberships for their employees and medical staff. If you are affiliated with this institution, please contact Kayla Flynn (Kayla.Flynn@unchealth.unc.edu) for assistance in accessing the ADL. NC healthcare professionals who are not affiliated with Nash UNC Health Care may purchase access to the ADL for a yearly membership fee of $200.
Less than the cost of a single journal subscription, an ADL membership provides access to the full scope of licensed ADL resources 24/7.
Essential Evidence Plus (EE+)
NC AHEC provides NC healthcare practitioners with complimentary access to Essential Evidence Plus (EE+), an evidence-based, point-of-care tool.
From TDS Health: “Essential Evidence Plus is a powerful, comprehensive clinical decision support system that integrates information on 9,000 diagnoses into healthcare professionals’ clinical workflows. This clinical tool, created by an international team of renowned medical experts, was developed for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals on the front line of patient care.
EE+ features over 13,000 topics, guidelines, abstracts, tools, images, and summaries covering the most common conditions, diseases, and procedures clinicians come in contact with every day. Every recommendation carries a strength-of-evidence rating that accurately grades each recommendation’s merit on the basis of all of the evidence available in the relevant literature.
In addition, EE+ links extensively to abstracts of Cochrane Systematic Reviews.”
If you have questions about opening EE+, accessing the AHEC Digital Library, or need
assistance with either resource, please contact us.
Helpful Resources
From the Librarians at Charlotte AHEC
- Using the ADL
- Taking the Boo! out of Your Boolean Search
- True or CRAAP: How to Evaluate the Information You Find on the Internet
- Copyright Basics: What to Know and Where to Go
Other Resources
10 Tips on How to Use PubMed Efficiently
For Consumers and Patients: Tips on Finding Good Health Information
An Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice
Using Evidence-Based Nursing in Practice
Finding Information for a Community Health Assessment
Finding Health Data and Statistics
Finding Data Sets for the Health and Natural Sciences: An Introduction