Frequently Asked Questions

Ochsner is a non-profit organization and due to policy, we cannot pay for donations.

Our staff can demonstrate and offer guidance in using our resources—unscheduled or by appointment. We can provide anything from a brief overview of services to customized, in-depth, hands-on training in essential resources. Chat, text, call or email our staff for assistance. You can also make an In-Service Request for someone from our staff to present at your next department or team meeting.

Ask a staff member at our Information Desk for any lost items. Please bring any found items to the Information Desk for staff to hold. If an item is not claimed, it is taken to Guest Services Department near the Jefferson Highway entrance.

Our collection of print books (excluding rare books) is available to physicians, clinical staff, researchers, leaders, students, and non-clinical employees with an Ochsner ID. Print books can be borrowed for six (6) weeks at a time.

Medical Library resources and services are available to all Ochsner employees across the entire system. This includes Ochsner physicians, residents, nurses, clinical staff, faculty, students studying or training at Ochsner, and administrative leaders.

Start with using our Print Holdings Catalog. Enter your search term(s) in the search box and click the search button. A list of relevant results of hard copy books available from the Medical Library will be provided. Click on the book’s Title to retrieve its full record. Look for the book's Call Number which indicates where in the stacks to find the hard copy book if it is available.

Use our Archives Catalog to search for documents and digitized images from the archive collection. You can search by keywords, year, and material type. The Archives Catalog also features several collections of similar images and topics.

Email medicallibrary@ochsner.org for permission to use any images from our Archive Collection. Images in our Archives Catalog contain a watermark which will be removed once permission to use an image is granted.

Yes. Links can be found in Epic by clicking on "WebLink Resources" located in the top nav. Look for Ochsner Medical Library on the the drop-down menu. There are links to clinical resources, our catalog, literature search request form,  ILLiad, and PubMed.

We appreciate recommendations for improving our collection. Use our Resource Purchase Request to make a suggestion. Be sure to include as much information as possible to assist in our evaluation of the resource. Please note that not all institutional subscription book titles are available in electronic or audio format.

The Medical Library provides health information for educational use only. This should not be considered medical advice. Our staff is not trained to answer questions about medical conditions. For medical advice, please consult your doctor. You may also contact Ochsner On Call at 1-800-231-5257. This is a free service available 24/7 with specially-trained nurses who can help determine your best care options.

To get articles from journals we do not subscribe, use your Ochsner ILLiad account, our inter-library loan and document delivery service. ILLiad is the fastest, most direct way to submit requests. Most requests are completed within 24 hours and delivered to your ILLiad account. You will be notified by email too.

We are located on the campus of Ochsner Medical Center at 1514 Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, LA 70121. We are on the first floor of the hospital along the History Walk corridor.

Interlibrary loan internet accessible database (ILLiad) is the resource sharing management software used by the Medical Library to process and manage our interlibrary loan (ILL) requests. Through ILLiad, you can request and receive article and book chapter requests. There is no cost for this service for Ochsner staff and employees.

Read these instructions for remote access. BrowZine is an ideal way to get full-text articles from our journals. Read by QxMD is a moble app that can be downloaded to your smartphone or tablet for mobile access to our subscribed journals. EZproxy offers remote access to both our journal and eBook holdings. Each method will require logging in with your Ochsner credentials. Contact Medical Library staff for assistance if you have technical questions.

Yes! We have an ongoing oral history program and want to know more about your story. Please contact the Medical Library either by email or phone and our archivist will be in touch with you.

UpToDate (a clinical decision support tool) is an accredited learning resource that can earn users AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. To activate this feature, create a personal UpToDate account on a desktop computer on the Ochsner network. Click on the "Register" link in the upper right corner on the UpToDate home page and create a user account. It is best to do this when logged into Epic to confirm your computer is on the Ochsner network. Then, when you research a clinical question in UpToDate, your search activity and time spent is tracked and held in your personal account. Watch an online Help Demo (select "Earn and Redeem CME/CE/CPD Credit" from the Explore UpToDate training videos menu) for details on redeeming your CME credits. Contact the Ochsner CME department (cme@ochsner.org) for applying UpToDate CME credit to your Ochsner account.

If your unit or department wants to start a journal club or re-energize an existing one, the Medical Library can help. We'll need you to choose a group facilitator and recruit group participants but our staff can assist with selecting the most relevant or current articles for review and discussion. We can obtain the full-text articles for you too if you have issues accessing it. Read about the journal club support we provide.

To access UpToDate (a clinical decision support tool) remotely or on a mobile device, first create a personal UpToDate account on a desktop computer on the Ochsner network. Click on the "Register" link in the upper right corner on the UpToDate home page and create a new user account. It is best to do this when logged into Epic to confirm your computer is on the Ochsner network. With this login, you can access UpToDate remotely from any computer with an internet connection. You can also download the UpToDate app to your mobile device. After opening the app, enter your new personal account login credentials. UpToDate on your mobile device requires monthly authentication but by logging into Epic during the month, this should happen automatically. 

Use OHSLink to access Epic when you are away from an Ochsner campus or facility. You will need your Ochsner ID and password for log in to the Ochsner network. Read these Accessing Epic Instructions (after page loads, select the "Use external login" option at bottom) found in the HUB Knowledge Base. If you still have issues accessing Epic, contact the IS Service Desk at 504-842-3610.