Library Update

Did you know October is National Medical Librarian month? Read this month’s Library Update to learn more about:

• Medical librarians
• AI overviews in search engines
• Bloodletting! 

Celebrate National Medical Librarians month 

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October is National Medical Librarians month and JAMA republished a 1950s editorial celebrating the contributions of medical librarians.  While the educational and professional competencies of librarians have changed in the last 75 years, the mission and focus remain timeless.  

“American medicine has reached its present high position, in part at least, because of the ability of American physicians to adapt the standards of the past to the changing needs of the present and to build on the firm foundations of what has gone before.

In this scheme of things, medical libraries have been a primary factor. In them has been stored the knowledge of the practices of the past, and into them have come daily the new discoveries and new knowledge on which the American physician could build.”

Get to know your medical librarians. Visit our home page or email us any requests for literature

AI’s Takeover of Your Search Results

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Ever yearn for the olden days (way back in 2023) where a simple question in the Google search box would display a neat list of links? Maybe we’re alone in this longing.

AI overviews and summaries are now commonplace in search engines, particularly Google search. They take up a large section of the initial search results page and present the user an AI-generated answer to their search query. We used Google to ask the question, "How does AI overview work?" and got the following summary:

The embedded links in the overview are where the user can find the source material. But a recent study showed that users are unlikely to actually click on these links. This same study also found that the most frequently cited sources for AI-generated overviews are Reddit, YouTube, and Wikipedia.

Before AI Overviews, the normal person would:

• Launch a search engine, like Google
• Gather results
• Determine if the source(s) is or isn’t credible
• Summarize the content.

Now search engines, like Google, are using AI tools to do the majority of this work. While the AI-generated overview presents a speedy and polished answer to a question, the background process to get that is more complex. According to Dr. Margaret Lozovatsy, pediatrician and vice president of digital health strategy at AMA:

"[Generative AI tools] take anything that they can find on the topic and put it together into a coherent statement. It’s tempting when you get this answer that often seems coherent to believe that it’s accurate…The reality is we have no way to assess where the information came from to come up with this answer, so it’s really difficult to understand whether it is good information, bad information and what the sources are…it’s just taking what is out there, even all the misinformation, and putting it together in front of you."

AI summaries and overviews aren’t leaving anytime soon. Developing AI literacy is key to understanding the strengths and limitations of these features. This is important for clinicians and patients alike. For further reading on AI literacy and engagement with AI-generated overviews in search results, see:

• Google AI Overviews Are Here to Stay: A Call to Teach AI Literacy
• N.U.R.S.E.S. embracing artificial intelligence: A guide to artificial intelligence literacy for the nursing profession  
• Generative AI in healthcare education: How AI literacy gaps could compromise learning and patient safety
• Perspective: advancing public health education by embedding AI literacy

Bloodletting: From Hippocrates to Therapeutic Phlebotomy

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Bloodletting, or the theory of removing excess blood from the body to cure disease, has been around since Hippocrates all the way through the modern day.

Bloodletting originally meant removing usually large quantities of blood from the patient in the belief that doing this would prevent or cure many diseases. (2) Early forms of bloodletting could easily kill patients from blood loss.

Instruments like the scarificator below (1) were used during the 17th and 18th centuries to puncture the skin for bloodletting.

In modern medicine, bloodletting is a taboo term for a bygone practice. But it actually still helps some people. Today, Therapeutic Phlebotomy (or the removal of a specific amount of blood) can be used to treat patients with too much iron or too many red blood cells in their blood. (3)

Learn about how Allina Health Library Services can make your work easier. Visit our Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com.

Happy Labor Day! Before the leaves start falling, we've got a new Library Services Update for you. 

Read more to learn about:

• Federal government and disappearing data
• How to search for high impact journals
• Evidence of saunas for health. 

September is also National Cat Month. We've compiled a few photos of Library Services' cats to celebrate!

Disappearing data: where to find government information and what you can do

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University of Minnesota Government Publications Librarian Jenny McBurney and her team put together the University of Minnesota’s Finding Government Information Guide. 

What is the University of Minnesota's Finding Government Information Guide?

The University of Minnesota’s Finding Government Information guide provides a wealth of information to help users access government websites, documents, tools, and datasets. See list of archived material by topic, including archived websites and documents and rescued public health data.

The guide also presents resources on data rescue efforts happening across the country, including the Data Rescue Project, which contains a portal to more than 1000 preserved datasets spanning dozens of topics and agencies.

This level of erasure and censorship can make individuals feel powerless.

Here's what you can do to make a difference:

• Install the official Wayback Machine browser extension to save web pages to the internet archive.
• Report missing websites to the Tracking Government Info Project.
• Check out other events and volunteer opportunities provided by groups dedicated to saving and preserving access to government information.

How to search with high-impact Core Clinical journals

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Looking for high-impact Core Clinical Journals? Follow these steps:

1. Login into MyNCBI. If you don't already have a MyNCBI account in PubMed then create one.
    
2. Proceed into your account profile > Dashboard > Filters (at the bottom) > Manage Filters
    
3. Click the “Create Custom Filter” button"
   
    
4. These are the linked codes. Copy and paste the linked codes into the “Query terms” box and save filter (click the blue button)
   

Your new filter will appear on the left side, ready to be selected for curated high-impact journal results.

The list of Core Clinical Journals (CCJs) aka “high-impact titles” (e.g. NEJM, JAMA, Circulation, Lancet, and more) have been used by clinicians and librarians for over 50 years.  Creating a filter for CCJs not only narrows search results, but it helps find clinically relevant literature in PubMed.  

If you have any questions about finding high-impact Core Clinical Journals, email Library@allina.com.

Can saunas help you live longer?

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What happens in your body when you enter a sauna, according to the research.

When exposed to higher temperatures, the body's thermoregulatory response mechanisms go into action.

• To prevent cellular damage, heat shock proteins fold within the skin to assist and repair stressed or injured cells.
• To protect organs, sensory neurons are triggered within the brain’s autonomic nervous system to:
  • Expand capillaries
  • Increase blood circulation
  • Raise the body’s heart rate. The skin absorbs heat, which is relieved by sweating.

Over time, the body stimulates production of heat shock proteins, strengthening the body’s ability to:

• Manage inflammation
• Repair itself after physical strain
• Maintain healthier cells.

Similar physiological responses are found in moderate aerobic exercise training (Kunutsor 2023, Brunt 2021).

Is there evidence supporting these benefits?

In a seminal study in JAMA Internal Medicine, 2315 Finnish participants were followed for over 20 years. These participants used the sauna at least once a week.

Researchers found participants who used saunas a minimum of 2-3 times per week had:

• 22% lower risk of sudden cardiac death
• 23% lower risk of death from coronary heart disease
• 27% lower risk of all coronary heart disease.

Most frequent sauna use was also associated with greater reductions in all-cause risks of mortality.

In short:

While not a replacement for exercise, repeated sauna visits have many benefits. That being said, saunas are contraindicated for those with:

• Cardiovascular conditions
• Implanted medical devices
• Pregnancy
• Other health conditions.

It is recommended to talk with a physician before use.

Lastly, saunas should feel restorative, not stressful. It's important to stay hydrated and listen to your body. Moderate sauna sessions are the key to ensuring a safe and beneficial experience.

September is National Cat Month!

We're celebrating National Cat Month by sharing photos of our feline friends!

Learn about how Allina Health Library Services can make your work easier. Visit our Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com.

August is officially here! Before long the leaves will be changing colors and pumpkin spice will be everywhere, but for now: here's our August newsletter. Keep reading to learn more about the new Micromedex app, the Sanford Guide app, and our new eBooks. Read until the end to see our staff's favorite dogs for National Dog Month!

The New Micromedex App

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The Micromedex drug information system upgraded their app to deliver more efficient access with an improved user experience.  

Micromedex now features an all-in-one combined app, featuring:

• Drug Reference
• Drug Interactions
• IV Compatibility
• NeoFax® Reference
• Pediatrics References
• Calculators
• Micromedex Assistance. 

To use the app:

1. Download the Micromedex app on the App Store or Google Play® Store from your device and search “Micromedex.”
2. Open the app. The activation code will generate on the mobile device. Copy the code by tapping on a copy icon to the right of the code.  
3. To activate the app, tap on the "Activate Now" button on your app. Enter login information if required OR follow the link to activate the new mobile app via Micromedex online activation page.  
4. Paste or enter the code in the "Activate Now" window on the mobile device or in the desktop application. Click "Activate Device." 

Note: To activate the app, you must be connected to the Allina Health Network (e.g., Guestnet, Providernet). If you are trying to activate it remotely, you need to login with your credentials.

Email library@allina.com if you have questions.

The Sanford Guide App

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The Sanford Guide Antimicrobial Therapy is the gold standard for:

• antibiotic therapy
• local stewardship guidelines
• antibiograms.  

The Sanford Guide also features drug tables, calculators, and pharmaceutical data for diseases and sites of infection.

The mobile app is now available to Allina Health employees for iOS and Android. To use the app, register for the Sanford Guide app from an Allina Health PC.  Then, follow instructions in your email.  

Email library@allina.com if you have questions. 

New eBooks!

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ClinicalKey For Nursing has added over 80 eBooks to its platform this year, here a few noteworthy ones:  

• Public Health Nursing
• Sociological Approaches to Health, Healthcare and Nursing Global Health and Nursing
• The Social and Structural Determinants of Health
• Ethics & Issues In Contemporary Nursing  

View all of our new eBooks.

*All eBooks can be accessed on an Allina Health computer, if attempting to access eBooks remotely, contact Library@allina.com for further assistance.  

August is National Dog Month!

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August is National Dog Month! To celebrate, we’re sharing some photos of our staff’s favorite canines. 

Did you know?

The power of pet therapy has been shown to decrease cortisol levels and lower blood pressure while increasing overall well-being? New research shows promising results that pet therapy may be effective at treating psychiatric, cognitive, and neurological disorders. 

Animals help us in so many unexpected ways!

Learn about how Allina Health Library Services can make your work easier. Visit our Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com.
 

Happy Summer! We've been quite busy here in Library Services. Keep reading to hear about the value of Library Services, AI hallucinations, and a PubMed update.

The Value of Library Services

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Allina Health’s Library Services adds value to Allina Health through our services, savings, and contract management.

Library Services provides needed services to staff efficiently through:  

• Literature searches for clinicians and business units
• Article delivery through contracted journals and interlibrary loans (articles sourced through other libraries)
• Resource offerings through strategic negotiation and vendor contracts. 

Library Services supports and enhances:

• research and innovation
• patient safety and outcomes
• patient care
• business decisions. 

Read our recent document to learn more about the value of Library Services and check out our 2024 annual report to see our work last year. 

Am I hallucinating? Generative AI’s problem with fake citations 

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Large language models used in generative AI chatbots and other tools are susceptible to producing bibliographic citations that seem accurate but can be completely fictional. A citation may even be properly formatted, includes a prolific author and a reputable journal, but often they are still entirely fake.  

Recently, this issue received widespread attention when a report from the “Make America Healthy Again” commission was found to contain references to non-existent scientific studies that support the commission’s claims.  

Often called “hallucinations” (although this term is not without criticism), this well-known phenomenon doesn’t have a clear solution. Users must remain cautious in evaluating citations produced by generative AI tools.

In a study that specifically looked at ChatGPT, the authors conclude that “…ChatGPT is fundamentally a text transformer—not an information retrieval system—and because it is designed to repeat behaviors that result in favorable human feedback (41, 42). Humans are more likely to be satisfied with confident responses (43, 44, 45), so the AI provides confident responses, correct or otherwise.”

Read these articles to learn more:

• Exploring the Boundaries of Reality: Investigating the Phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence Hallucination in Scientific Writing Through ChatGPT References - PubMed 
• Integrating AI into clinical education: evaluating general practice trainees' proficiency in distinguishing AI-generated hallucinations and impacting factors - PubMed
• Citation Accuracy Challenges Posed by Large Language Models - PubMed

PubMed Update: Changes to Email Features

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On or after July 28th, PubMed will reintroduce the ability to customize subject lines and body text when emailing search results or citations.  These updates will require a My NCBI account to email PubMed results.  These updates will also strengthen the security of the email feature.

To continue using PubMed's email feature, register for a free My NCBI account with Google or Login.gov. 

If you have any questions, email us at Library@allina.com 

Learn about how Allina Health Library Services can make your work easier. Visit our Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com.

June is here and so is a new Library Update! This month's edition includes an exciting new addition to our team, brand new resources for you to access, and one of the many things Library Services has been up to.

Meet Rachel Fields, Library Services’ Newest Knowledge Specialist

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Rachel Fields joined the Library Services team this May, taking over for Pamela Barnard who retired earlier this year.

Rachel joins us after 10 years at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation as a research librarian. She received her Master of Library and Information Sciences (MLIS) from St. Catherine University. 

Rachel describes herself as an “avid reader” and is on track to meet her goal of reading 60 books this year. When she doesn’t have her nose in a book, or her eyes on Browzine, she enjoys spending time with her family, hunting for treasures at antique malls and thrift stores, and getting outdoors.  

“So far I have loved getting to know the Library Services and Patient Education staff at Allina Health. They have been so welcoming!” Rachel said when asked what her favorite part of joining the team has been.

Her final word of advice is: “When in doubt, ask a librarian!”  

Welcome to the team, Rachel! 

New eResources!

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Summer is here and brought us a plethora of new eResources.  

First up we have the new version of Hale’s Medication and Mother’s Milk. This title has gone through some exciting changes as it is now its own website database instead of an eBook. It offers an easier to use searching experience and updated drug list including:

• GLP-1 medications for weight loss
• heart failure medications
• medications for postpartum depression.  

We have also added the Sports Nutrition Care Manual to our collection. This manual focuses on nutrition for the athletic patient of any age and includes

• evaluations of popular athletic dietary supplements.
• access to SHPN, USOC and CPSDA nutrition fact sheets in one place.
• calculators for calorie and hydration, sweat loss, body composition and energy needs.

We also have added new eBooks to our collection, including:

• Global LGBTQ Health Research, Policy, Practice, and Pathways
• Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking
• Leifer’s Introduction to Maternity and Pediatric Nursing.

Check out all of our 30 new ebooks.  

Library Services Gives Back with Opens Arms

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Last month, Allina Health’s Library Services, Patient Education, Learning and Development, and Nursing Informatics teams joined forces to pack meals for Open Arms.

Together, we:

• packed 386 meals and 120 nausea care packs
• mixed and bagged 487 bags of trail mix
• filled 248 dressing cups
• scooped 87 pork meatballs
• chopped 50lbs of crystallized ginger and 18lbs of red bell peppers.

Open Arms “prepares and delivers nourishing meals to critically ill Minnesotans and their families in need – 100% free of charge.”.

Learn more:

• Open Arms of Minnesota
• Allina Health’s Employee Volunteer Program.

Learn about how Allina Health Library Services can make your work easier. Visit our Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com.

Happy May Day! This European festival celebrates the beginning of Spring. Our May Day gift to you is our May Update. Keep reading to learn more about research at Allina Health, read about the impact and accuracy of the new medical drama “The Pitt”, and get to know NatMed Pro.

Research at Allina Health

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Did you know within the latest year Allina Health clinicians and staff have published almost 400 peer-reviewed articles in biomedical science?

The number of publications from Allina Health authors grows year after year and this figure would likely be in the thousands if we included all known paper/poster abstracts, conference reports, book chapters, white papers, and research beyond scope of the biomedical sciences.

Are you working on a research project? Library Services can help you. We are your access point for journals, publications, and research. Check out our resources and databases or request a literature search from one of our expert librarians.

Impact and accuracy of HBO’s new medical drama, “The Pitt"

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The new medical drama series on HBO Max “The Pitt” has been widely praised for its portrayal of the challenges of working in a modern-day emergency department.

The Pitt is set in the fictional Pittsburg Trauma Medical Hospital, starring a world-weary senior attending ED physician Dr. Michael Rabinovich
(“ER” alum Noah Wyle).  Each episode covers one hour of a relentless 15-hour shift with a team of residents, nurses, and medical students. Each episode shows them facing heavy emotional exhaustion and confronting real-life issues, such as: ED overcrowding, complicated patients, workforce shortages, race and gender inequities, and grim or grisly patient encounters.

Clinician reactions (Doctor Mike; Stevejoe; Simms 2025), critics (Holmes 2025), and researchers (Shaw 2025) have overwhelmingly praised the authenticity and depth of The Pitt as perhaps the most realistic medical drama on modern television. Cases featured in the show have been referred to as “classic ED cases” physicians and nurses learned about.

For instance, full-time emergency physician Alex Slog, MD in Oregon spoke highly of the show. “As far as the medicine goes, this is probably the most accurate I’ve seen of any medical drama.  Most of the time, if I’m watching a show set in a hospital, I can’t really focus on the story because I’m yelling about all the things they’re doing wrong that would kill the patient” (Shaw 2025).  

Dr. Michael Gotlieb of Rush University in Chicago said, “Not only is the show more realistic in its portrayal of emergency medicine in general, but also with how it shows our broader medical environment today—post-COVID times, ED boarding, contract management groups.  All of these external factors that make it a unique situation.  If you want to help your friends and family better understand what makes our work so challenging, physically and emotionally, I think this show does a relatively good job of that” (Shaw 2025). 

The Pitt is not without inaccuracies and sensationalistic storytelling. Dr. Kayla Simms from Ottawa’s Queensway Carleton Hospital described the depiction of a schizophrenic patient who is labeled as the “The Kraken” – not as a patient in distress, but as a monster lying in wait where his suffering becomes a spectacle. Instead of swift interventions, the ER team appears indifferent, lingering outside his room and debating restraint methods (Simms 2025).

Other widely reported inaccuracies, much to the chagrin of clinicians, included poorly executed CPR, unprofessional interactions with interns, ignoring charting and documentation process, and multiple instances where life-saving care is delayed for heightening the suspense (Doctor Mike; Stevejoe; Simms 2025). 

Medical dramas often influence public beliefs. The Pitt is no exception as the show has the potential to reshape the portrayal of US healthcare showing the strain and stress of all the components for ED patients on clinicians.

Get to know NatMedPro

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Looking for information on supplements or integrative therapies? We have a resource for that.
Check out NatMed Pro.  

NatMed Pro (formerly called Natural Medicines) provides high quality, evidence-based information on dietary supplements (including herbs, vitamins, and minerals), functional foods, diets, complementary practices (modalities), exercises, and medical conditions. NatMed Pro also offers interaction checker (including pregnancy and lactation interactions), nutrient depletion tools and free CME.

As supplements and integrative therapies become more common place, Natmed Pro is the place to start. Check out NatMed Pro. 

That is all for our May update! To learn about how Allina Health Library Services can make your work easier, visit our Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com.

Spring has sprung! We’ve been busy here in Library Services and we are excited to share our updates with you. This month’s update includes a retirement announcement from a long-time staff member, information on navigating federal health data and misinformation, and a tool you can use to keep your research organized. Let's spring right in!

Pamela Barnard retired April 1st

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Congratulations to Pamela Barnard on her retirement! Pam’s last day was Tuesday, April 1st.  

Pam has been with Allina Health for 30 years as a Knowledge Consultant Librarian. Pam supported and served countless numbers of clinicians, leaders, staff, patients, and families throughout Allina Health.  

Her expertise, insights, kindness, humor, and hard work ethic have made her an amazing colleague and friend. Pam’s strong connections and foundational knowledge will be greatly missed.  We are excited for her to start her next chapter. 

Navigating Changes in Federal Health Data Access

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There are many questions and much uncertainty around the state of health data from the CDC and other health departments. Library Services is here to help you in the ever-changing federal government landscape.

The New England Journal of Medicine published “Disappearing Data at the U.S. Federal Government | New England Journal of Medicine” last month, offering their perspective on this topic and its possible consequences.  

What we know

• Many data sets were removed and/or altered.
• Some of these data sets were made available after court decisions. Find more specifics about this on the STAT website, an online newspaper reporting on health, medicine, and life sciences.
• There are resources available to find missing data sets, or other data sets that may suffice for your research purposes.

How can I access removed data sets or other health information?

• STAT and the Internet Archive, another online resource, have archives of federal health data sets. However, these platforms are not the easiest to use. Library Services is here to help you find potential alternatives. Email us at library@allina.com.

More information

• The Medical Library Association, our professional organization, published a statement. Read “Protecting Access to Health Information: the Critical Role of Libraries, NLM, and NIH Funding”.
• Library Services will continue to watch the situation and provide updates when relevant.

Check out our new subject guide: Health Misinformation

From our media ecosystem to dinner table conversations, health misinformation is pervasive in our lives. It is more important than ever to be alert and respond to health misinformation to keep our patients, our communities, and ourselves safe and healthy.

Library Services can help you do that. Our new Health Misinformation subject guide is full of resources to help you address health misinformation. 

Spring Cleaning with Zotero

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Spring is a time for cleaning. Do you need to clean up your research? Zotero is a free, easy-to use tool to help you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research.  With Zotero you can:

• Obtain citations about any websites or references with a single click.  
• Research can be sorted into collections and tagged with keywords.  
• References and bibliographies can be seamlessly added to any text editor including Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs.  
• Zotero lets you build a collaborative bibliography and share a library with as many people as needed at no costs. 

For more information about Zotero, visit our Citation Tools page or request training by emailing library@allina.com. 

That is all for our April update! To learn about how Allina Health Library Services can make your work easier, visit our Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com.

March brings spring and new updates from us here at Library Services. Take a couple minutes to read about our Clinical Practice Guidelines, how you can support Minnesota's Health Library, and learn about our new e-book offerings!

Easily access trustworthy clinical guidelines

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Library Services offers easy access to Clinical Practice Guidelines to help stay current with the latest research standards and recommendations when caring for patients with specific conditions. 

How to access our Clinical Practice Guidelines

• Go to our Library Services webpage.
• Select the down arrow under Subject Guides from the top menu and select Guidelines.
• From here you can:
  • Browse more than 20 specialties and subspecialties.
  • Search all database guidelines for all disciplines and specialties under the Quick Links section.

Still need help?

Schedule a 15- or 30-minute consultation with a librarian on the Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com to learn how to use our library resources and tools.

Help us expand Minnesota's Health Library to all Minnesotans

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The University of Minnesota and Minitex (Minnesota Office of Higher Education) is looking to develop the Minnesota Electronic Health Library (MeHL), but state funding is needed.  

Why it matters:

• Free online health information resources are often incomplete or inconsistent with results.
• Licenses for professional-level health information are costly and vary between institutions.
• Our state’s health care providers, educators, students, researchers, patients, and caregivers don’t have access to the information they need to support their work and training, or to promote patient engagement and informed decision-making.
• This 24/7 online library will help people access: 
  • clinical support tools (e.g. DynaMedex)
  • prescription drug references
  • learning and development tools (e.g. Dynamic Health CDS & Skills)
  • full-text books and journals (e.g.CINAHL/Medline Ultimate).

Take action

Check out the following ways you can help us secure additional funding:

• Share your personal or professional story on how access to health information has helped you. Submit your story here.

If you have questions, visit MeHL or email us at Library@allina.com. 

New eBooks!

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Library Services has recently acquired over 30 new eBooks. Some of our newest acquisitions include:

• 2025-2026 Perianesthesia Nursing Standards, Practice Recommendations and Interpretive Statements
• Demystifying Integrated Care
• Global Health and Nursing
• Guidelines for Perioperative Practice 2025
• Handbook of Basic and Clinical Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Transcultural nursing: assessment & intervention

View all of our new eBooks.

All eBooks can be accessed on an Allina Health computer. If you are attempting to access eBooks remotely, contact Library@allina.com for further assistance. 

That is all for our March update! To learn about how Allina Health Library Services can make your work easier, visit our Library Services webpage or email us at Library@allina.com.

Library Services looks back at 2024

It was a busy year for Library Services. Some highlights include:

• seeing a five-year high for literature search requests with 1,298 completed searches. 
• presented twice as many library presentations in 2024 than 2023. This resulted in nearly 1,200 Care Team Members accessing information on how to use the library and our tools.
• filled 5,607 full-text articles and interlibrary loans to staff.
• developed six new specialty library guides. 
• added 57 new e-books to our collection.

Through our services, resources and tools, Library Services supports everything from evidence-based clinical policies and practices to patient safety to direct patient care. Learn how you can work with us.

We look forward to supporting even more of you with your important work this year. View our 2024 Annual Report here.

AI is Reshaping Medical Literature

AI has led to exciting new breakthroughs across multiple specialties including better polyp detection in colonoscopies, more targeted medications in primary care and reducing diagnostic errors. 

One downside from these AI-related breakthroughs is the lack of guardrails and detection mechanisms for AI-generated content in medical literature.

Why it matters: AI-generated literature in clinical journals poses three risks to academic and public interest: 

• Difficulty for average citizens and scientists to determine AI-generated text from genuine research.
• Fake or disreputable studies will eventually flood even reputable databases (e.g. UpToDate, Micromedex) with dubious information or nonsensical content.
• Potential, serious harm to the public from an abrupt loss in confidence with scientific data.

 Dig deeper: Harvard Kennedy School’s Misinformation Review found that two-thirds of scientific research in Google Scholar shows evidence of ChatGPT-generated content. Of that, 14.5% of health and clinical studies contained ChatGPT-fabricated data.

The way to win: Library Services can help steer you to reliable, peer-reviewed literature for decision-making and evidence-based research. 

• Contact us Library@allina.com
• Visit our home page Home - Library Services - LibGuides at Allina Health Library Services 
• Sign up for the Library Services newsletter.

The  National Black Nurses Association:  from invisibility to influence 

Professional associations can be powerful tools to promote and nurture their members’ careers and professional identities, as well as help drive policy changes.   In celebration of Black History Month, we are highlighting The National Black Nurses Association. The NBNA was founded in 1971 and according to the current president, Sheldon Fields, PhD, RN, it was created to advance healthcare for all communities, but with a special emphasis on historically underserved, marginalized black and other communities of color.  With that broader goal, NBNA promotes community service, health policy and advocacy, workforce expansion, and professional development.  An example of NBNA’s advocacy, along with the Black Nurse Collaborative, an associated group, was the work done around COVID-19.  According to the website, there are over 4,200 members from over 100 chapters from 33 states (including Minnesota). 

Library Services kicks off the new year with new subscriptions, staff

Welcome to 2025! We have a lot of exciting things happening this month. Most exciting is that Patient Education and Library Service are now a team. Joining the Patient Education department is Deb Kamholz, Patient Education specialist, and Ryan Fauglid, Patient Education associate. Deb joined Allina Health in 2005 as the marketing and communications manager at Owatonna Hospital and joined the Allina Health Corporate Communications team in 2011. Ryan is a recent college graduate from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications with a minor in Public Health. 

Both Deb and Ryan have excellent communication, design, and health literacy skills and are a great addition to the team. Find out more about Patient Education here. 

Journal subscriptions

In addition to new staff and services, we are also excited to announce that by cleaning up some redundant subscriptions, we were able to free up funds for three new journal subscriptions:

• Journal of Arthroplasty 
• Annals of Rheumatic Diseases 
• Prenatal Diagnosis

These journals were chosen based on demand. If you’d like us to consider a new journal, email us at library@allina.com.  

Facebook, Instagram break up with fact checkers

For many consumers, social media is their only source of information. Recently, Meta announced that Facebook and Instagram would be removing restrictions on speech and ending fact-checking. According to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, fact-checkers create “too much censorship” and are “too politically biased [which] has destroyed more trust than they created.” Ironically, fact checkers do not censor content.  

The implications for health information

Facebook and Instagram serve billions of users and provide news and health information. Removing fact-checkers will have major implications for us in health care. As health care professionals, we will need to be alert to misinformation on social media platforms and respond to misinformation.

How can Library Services help

Fortunately, you can count on Library Services to steer you toward reliable information with respected resources for health-related topics that you can share with patients. 

• Email Us for literature searches and full-text articles.
• Schedule time to meet with Library Services to help you identify misinformation
• Visit our Health Misinformation Resource page.

Recreating Library Services for hospital patients     

On a recent tour of the Hennepin County Library Special Collections in Minneapolis, we learned there was a tradition of public libraries offering library services to patients in the hospital. 

We weren’t aware of that, and it struck us how, in some small way, we are continuing this tradition  with our Little Free Library at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.  Thank you to all who recently donated books for our patients and Care Team Members to enjoy! 

Public Library Services were offered from the 1920s to the mid-1960s at several metro hospitals, including Abbott Hospital. 

Photo courtesy of the Hennepin County Library