Health Information Technology (HIT):
Online Library Resources

This guide has been prepared for use by students in the Health Information Technology program at Pitt Community College. This guide introduces distance learning students in the HIT program to services and resources available to them through PCC Library and on the WWW.

NOTE: PCC HIT students should read through the library's Distance Education Support webpage, which covers how to access the online databases, get library books sent to you, and more.

​Online Library Databases

Look for journal articles and books on your topic using PCC library's online subscription databases. You will need passwords to access these databases from off-campus.

Medical & Health Article Databases:

The following databases contain articles (both citations and some full-text) from medical and health related journals and magazines:

CINAHL with Full Text
Index of journals for nursing and allied health research, including full-text articles from selected journals.

Health Source: Consumer Edition
General health, nutrition, and medical journals. Includes the Clinical Reference Systems (CRS) series.

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
Contains scholarly and peer-reviewed journals for nursing and allied health. Includes Lexi-PALS Drug Guides.

Nursing & Allied Health Source
Full-text information from leading nursing, allied health, and related publications.

General Article Databases:

These databases cover many topics, including medicine & health.

Academic Search Premier
Includes journal, magazine, and newspaper articles, as well as images.

MasterFILE Premier
General magazine, journal, and newspaper articles covering a variety of subjects.

E-Books, Encyclopedias, and more:

STAT!Ref: Electronic Medical Books
Collection of electronic full-text medical reference books including: CPT with RVUs Data File, INGENIX (2010), ICD-9-CM - Volumes 1, 2 & 3 (2010)

ANATOMY.TV
Detailed interactive 3D model of human anatomy.

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Includes the Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health

NetLibrary  (full-text books online)
You can search the “full text” of books and go directly to the pages that contain your search term(s).

Need more information?

The library subscribes to many online databases. Depending on your topic, you may need to look through the entire  A to Z list of databases to find more relevant information. There is also a page with  databases divided by subject, and one that divides the databases by type of resource. If you have questions about any of this, ASK A LIBRARIAN!

Database Search Tips:

Remember, searching a library database is NOT like using an Internet search engine. More tips...

• Use AND to search multiple words or phrases - aging and diet
• Vary your search terms - (aging or geriatric) and (diet or nutrition)
• Put distinct phrases in quotation marks - "review of systems" or "electronic health record"
• Add an asterisk (*) to the root of a word to find multiple forms of that word - position* will find position, positions, positioning, positioned

Research Guides:

These research guides are meant to help you locate resources and information on specific topics as indicated.

Medical Images:

In PCC Library – (This is not available over the web!)

• Medical Images Library – Click on the desktop icon on any public computer in the library for a searchable database of medical images.

On the Internet –

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Photo Galleries -
  www.nih.gov/about/nihphotos.htm

• Google Images -
  http://images.google.com/

Evaluating Medical & Health Information:

MedlinePlus: Evaluating Health Information
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/evaluatinghealthinformation.html

A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web www.mlanet.org/resources/userguide.html
Medical Library Association

Online Health Information: Can You Trust It?
www.niapublications.org/agepages/healthinfo.asp
National Institute on Aging: Age Page

Need Help? Ask a Librarian!