An Exploratory Study of Organizational Procurement Policies for Personal Computers

Recent literature suggests that microcomputers will be quickly adopted by organizations, often without forethought as to the appropriate policies that should be followed in such adoption. An exploratory study of five medium-sized city governments reveals that, at least in some kinds of organizations, carefully thought-through policies for adoption of personal computers are being followed. Compatibility is the main problem often brought up by professionals as a reason for the need for a procurement policy. This problem is explored and the reasons for the development of these policies are discussed

Sex differences in urea breath test results for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection: a large cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Helicobacter pylori causes peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer only in a subset of infected persons. Sex differences were shown in results of urea breath test (UBT), a commonly used test for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. However, factors that might explain these differences, or affect UBT values, are not fully understood. We examined differences in UBT values between H. pylori-infected men and women while adjusting for background characteristics such as age, body mass index (BMI), and smoking. Methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken using coded data from the computerized database of Maccabi Health Services in Israel. Included were adults examined for UBT during 2002–2012 and were found H. pylori positive (UBT > 3.5‰). Multivariable linear mixed models were performed to assess the relationship between sex and UBT quantitative results, while adjusting for background characteristics. Results A total of 76,403 patients were included (52% of examined patients during the study period). Adjusted mean UBT value was significantly higher in women 33.8‰ (95% CI 33.4, 34.1) than in men 24.9‰ (95% CI 24.5, 25.3). A significant (P < 0.001) interaction was found between sex and smoking, showing diminished sex-differences in UBT results in smokers. Adjusted mean UBT values increased significantly with age and decreased with BMI, and it was higher in people who lived in low vs high socioeconomic status communities and lower in smokers vs non-smokers. Conclusions Systemic differences exist between men and women in quantitative UBT results. Host-related and environmental factors might affect UBT quantitative results. These findings have clinical implications regarding confirmation of the success of H. pylori eradication after treatment in various subgroups

PS2-18: The Maccabi Healthcare Services Cardiovascular Information System: Integration of Patient Care Data, Registries, and Gui

Abstract Background: The present study describes a registry of cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients in a large health maintenance organization in Israel aimed to be used by health professionals to identify CVD patients and follow the courses of their illnesses and risk factors

Prevalence of <i>H</i>. <i>pylori</i> infection (%) (urea breath test>3.5) by age group (in years) and country of birth; Maccabi Health Services, Israel 2002–2012.

<p>† Excluding countries that belonged to the Former Soviet Union.</p