The Victorian Human Services Directory, the forerunner to the National Health Services Library (aka in Australia, the National Health Services Directory) has grown from ONE million hits/month in Victoria in 2011 to over 14 million/month in 2023
- Organization and Navigation: Categories help structure the vast amount of information available in health services libraries. They provide a systematic way to organize various healthcare providers, services, and facilities, making it easier for users to find what they are looking for.
- User Experience: Categorization improves the user experience by simplifying the search process. When people are seeking specific health services or providers, they can quickly navigate to the relevant category rather than sifting through a massive unsorted list.
- Efficiency: For directory administrators, categories streamline the process of adding and managing entries. Grouping similar services or providers together reduces the effort required to maintain and update the directory.
- Targeted Search Results: When users search within a specific category, they receive more relevant results. This specificity enhances the chances of finding suitable healthcare options.
- Filtering Options: Categories often serve as filters, allowing users to refine their search results based on their requirements. For example, they might select a category like "dentist" and then apply additional filters such as location, insurance accepted, or specific specialties.
- Comparative Analysis: Categories enable users to compare different healthcare providers or services within the same category more easily. This aids in decision-making as users can assess and contrast options that are directly related to their needs.
- Consistency and Standardization: By establishing a standardized set of categories, health service libraries promote consistency across different platforms. This uniformity helps users understand how the information is structured, regardless of which directory they are using.
- Accessibility and Inclusivity: Categories can include diverse healthcare options, catering to various demographics, specialties, or types of care. This ensures that people with different healthcare needs can find relevant information.
- Public Health Planning: Aggregated data from health services library categories can provide valuable insights for public health planning and policy-making. Understanding the distribution of healthcare resources and services can help identify gaps and areas that require improvement.
Overall, categories are a fundamental organizational tool in health services libraries, enabling efficient information retrieval, improving user experience, and contributing to better healthcare decision-making for both users and administrators (Video here)
Disclaimer - I have nothing to do with the organisation that runs them in Australia, just responsible for their introduction following my success in Victoria with the Human Services Directory, then getting all 8 state/territory governments plus federal, private and not-for-profit organisations plus professional bodies to agree to a Single Source of Truth
