Information Therapy: A New Approach with Old Concept in Improvement of Chronic Diseases

Considering the importance of health information in the current era and need to get it by patients and their families despite the tremendous costs of treatment that they are facing with them necessity use of inexpensive and more cost-effective treatment strategies is felt. Information therapy including easy, available and low cost treatment methods that nowadays in most developed countries can be used as one of the important therapeutic approaches alongside other therapies. Unfortunately, in Iran the role of such medical librarians in it remains unknown. Information therapy is providing the right information at the right time for the right patient to improve people's mental and physical health and help patients. This study is a narrative overview and its aim is review of the definitions and concepts of information therapy, its role in educating patients, its advantages and the role of the medical librarians in that. For gathering appropriate articles, the key words "information therapy", "bibliotherapy", "medical librarians", "libraries " and "chronic diseases" are searched in databases SID, Magiran, ISI, Web of Science, Pubmed, Science Direct, Ebsco, Springer, IranMedex, Irandoc, Noormags, Elsevier, MDConsult, Emerald, and Proquest from Azar 1390 till Mordad 1392. After studying the retrieved documents, 40 documents were selected and reviewed. Literature review showed that medical librarians and information communicators have an effective role in improving health care processes through information therapy and its sub along with health care team including physicians, nutritionists, psychologists, counselors and specialists in other discipline. Meanwhile because novelty of such approach in Iran It is essential that the role of the medical librarian introduce and explain for related medical experts and officials, and the necessary infrastructure be done.