Missed Treatments of Hemodialysis Patients after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

The consequences of a natural event such as a hurricane can especially have a negative impact on vulnerable patients such as hemodialysis patients. In former incidences such as Hurricane Katrina, factors such as living relocations disrupted hemodialysis patients’ ability to adhere to their thrice-weekly treatments (Anderson et al, 2009). In this study, 44% of the 386 hemodialysis patients who experienced Hurricane Katrina reported missing one or more dialysis sessions. Thus, the hurricane had significant negative influence on patients’ attendance at the dialysis clinic. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico suffered extensive road blockages, electricity shortages, and lacking natural resources. Recovery procedures such as clearing of roads were not completed until several months afterward. By October, there was still a significant portion of people without sufficient resources. The primary objectives of this study are to assess the percentage of hemodialysis patients who missed dialysis sessions in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the social factors influencing their missed sessions. From a total of 16 facilities, three dialysis clinics in cities most highly impacted by the hurricane will be selected to participate. Data will be collected through patient interviews, surveys, and charts, to examine potential demographic characteristics and social factors that may have affected the patients’ attendance to these dialysis facilities. If there is a significant correlation between the social factors and missed treatments, then management strategies can be suggested to help hemodialysis patients adjust to post-disaster conditions and help develop planning strategies in case of future natural disasters

The echo of an unanswered ring: Improving the rate of reporting abnormal findings on echocardiography at TJUH

Aim: To improve the rate of reporting abnormal echo findings verbally to primary patient care teams. Goal: Increase the rate of attending reported abnormal echo findings to a patient\u27s primary team by 75% in 6 months

Business Intelligence System Adoption Model for SMEs

Many prior studies on the business intelligence system (BIS) adoption stories are coming from the developed countries, while recent adoption stories on the developing countries are usually from Thailand, Singapore and Philippines. Rarely, research focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) being reported, especially from the developing countries such as Malaysia even after the introduction of BIS by Malaysia’s SME in September 2013. Since, SMEs are the primary drivers for national development in Malaysia, the research on the BIS adoption in SMEs is important to promote the resilient growth of SMEs. This study aims to study the BIS adoption theories and determinants as reported by prior researchers and propose the BIS adoption model for SME in Malaysia. The developed research model contains ten, enabling determinants covering four characteristics: technological innovation, environment, organization, and CEO. The findings revealed that out of ten determinants, only six are relevant to the decision-making in BIS adoption

COVID: decoded - A Website, Blog, and Social Media Page with Resources and Information for the Public

What\u27s the Problem? Information about COVID19 in the news and on social media platforms is overwhelming, confusing, riddled with jargon and sometimes straight up wrong. Makig it easy for the public to misinterpret facts or simply accept headlines and infographics at facevalue without checking with primary and/or reputable sources. The nature of social media also allows for a perpetuation of this misinformation without recourse. Recall the one article floating around Facebook reporting that gargling salt/vinegar water could help prevent COVID19. We needede a source of simplified, reliable information about the pandemic for people outside of the health professions. Medical students are in a unique position to translate the facts into easy to digest information since we have an arm in both the public and health professional worlds