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The organization and development of MIST were a response to the needs of health professionals in Alabama, principally rural physicians, who expressed a desire to access the knowledge of the faculty at the UAB Medical Center. MIST provides free service on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week basis for physicians around the world. At any time, practitioners can obtain specific medical information and discuss possible diagnoses or patient-related problems with UAB specialists. MIST, the first and largest medical professional telephone consultation program of its kind, receives numerous requests from other institutions seeking information and advice on developing similar programs. Such programs now exist in many states. One reason for the success of MIST is that it has always enjoyed high visibility with UAB physicians, credibility with the physician callers, and priority within UAB's Office of the Vice President for Health Affairs. As a consultative system, MIST continues to contribute to improved health care for citizens of Alabama and beyond and to save patients and taxpayers the expense of unnecessary or inappropriate treatment. MIST provides consultation and continuing education at the moment of need for the professional in private practice. In return, UAB specialists are given access to vital research and demographic information, as well as patient referrals. MIST plays an important role in removing barriers to education and consultation for busy medical personnel and in facilitating patient referrals to an acclaimed center of research and excellent patient care. Rather than searching for the proper contact, one call to an easy-to-remember number puts the health professional in touch with the appropriate source. Rural doctors, as well as medical personnel working in urban areas, can feel that they are practicing "right next door" to an outstanding university medical center where colleagues who are ready and able to offer expert consultation and support at the critical moment of need are only a telephone call away.
Holt et al. (Tue,) studied this question.