The Librarian's Rx post about podcasting and the article on Technology Review.com, Libraries Offering Audiobook Downloads, about the state of audio books and podcasting in the medical world. Is this something we as librarians need to be paying more attention to?

Recently I renewed my Audio Digest subscriptions to come in audio CD instead of audio tape. The reason for this switch is that more and more cars now come with CD player but not tape players. A majority of my Audio Digest users listen to the CD on their commute to and from work.

Of course there are those people (myself included) who have a car that has only a stereo, no CD player or tape player. I get by with my mini iPod and iTrip (a little device that attaches to your iPod and enables you to listen to your iPod through your radio on an unused frequency, wirelessly) and I love it. My brother who is getting his MBA at Kellogg had to drive from Dallas to Chicago and decided to buy the audio CD of a required book which he transferred to his iPod and listened to in the moving van for the looooong drive.

I was curious to see if Audio Digest, "the gold standard of audio CME and CE," would have podcasts or audio files to download on your MP3 player or iPod. They don't. They have web broad casts for paying subscribers but nothing that you can take on the road with you.

So, I decided to investigate a few more areas of the web to see what is out there in audio books for medicine. This is by no means an exhaustive search, but it gives you some areas to look into if you are interested.

First let me say that unfortunately not all audio books are downloadable to iPods. Apple's proprietary software can not play audio books from NetLibrary and OverDrive (two large audio book suppliers to libraries). So you have two types of users, iPod users and MP3 users, and currently iPod users can not use a majority of audio book providers.

Podcasts:
I found two internet sites that have medical podcasts:
MedicineNet.com -Present Doctors On Health Audio Newsletters. These medical podcasts offer a way for you to hear current health news and trends in medicine on your iPod, MP3 player, or on your computer. They include commentary from MedicineNet doctors on current health news related to medicine, viewer questions, doctors tips and suggestions, and the latest medical research.
The audio newsletters include segments on:

• Health Beat - MedicineNet doctors will put the news in perspective and clarify the often conflicting issues presented by popular media.
• Monitoring Medicine - covers condition specific health trends and tips based on patient questions and concerns experienced in the daily practice of medicine.
• Research in Perspective - translates leading-edge research into valuable information you can use.
• Checking Your Pulse - MedicineNet doctors answer viewer questions and discuss important viewer comments.

SoundPractice.net -The audio web site of the Journal of Medical Practice Management, "First Blog and Podcast Site Dedicated to Medical Practice Community"

Their podcast library includes:

• Time-of-Service Payment: Customer Service and Cash Management
• What Patients Say They Want, and What They Really Want From Their Private Practice Physicians by Professor Carl E. Schneider from The University of Michigan Schools of Law and Medicine
• The Importance of Effective Communication with Patients, Colleagues, and Staff with Dr. Michael S. Woods
• The Three Things Every Private Practice Should Do Immediately with Dr. Maulik Joshi, President and CEO of the Delmarva Foundation

SCCM Syndication -The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) iCritical Care Podcast now allows anyone to access an audio companion to the only newsmagazine dedicated to critical care through an iPod, portable music player or personal computer.

Their podcast library includes:

• Pharmaceutical Dilemmas in the ICU Cancer Patient Cancer patients present with a number of complications that can affect how medicine is prescribed and administered to them. Learn about the challenges of medicating an ICU cancer patient and how to overcome these dilemmas.
• PICU Care of Children with Cancer Mortality rates for most pediatric cancer patients in the PICU are approaching those of the general PICU population. Learn about the history of PICU care and find out how new attitudes have improved outcomes for this population.
• Critical Care of Cancer Patients Thoughts on how and when to treat the critical ill cancer patient have evolved throughout the last three decades, possibly leading to better care for those admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Educate yourself on theories behind treating critically ill cancer patients and on how the multiprofessonal approach enhances the quality of care for this population.

There seems to be a growing selection of places for podcasts and medicine. Most of the podcasts tend to be like newscasts (hence the name podcasts). I could not easily find any audio books in medicine. My theory to this is that perhaps most of your medical books are image heavy, which really don't come through well in an audio book form.

The most advancements made in audio books and online books seem to be in the public library area with popular books. Podcasts seem to be popping up all over the place but with a few exceptions they tend to news related information.

So I think the long and the short of this post is that podcasting and audiobooks have not quite enjoyed the immense popularity seen in the public library sector. It is definitely worth keeping an ear/eye out for podcasts as an emerging technology. As far as audio books go, I am sure there are some medical books out there that aren't heavy with images, perhaps those might lend themselves to audio books, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.