RESUMEN
Launched in 2019, Malaffi is the first health information exchange (HIE) platform in the Middle East and North Africa region. It safely and securely connects public and private healthcare providers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Malaffi allows for meaningful, real-time exchange of patient health information between the providers, establishing a centralized database of unified patient records, thus improving healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Now that the foundation has been firmly established by collating 99% of all patient episodes in the Emirate, Malaffi is implementing tools to support population health. Recently these activities were focused on COVID-19 response. In the future, these population health services will offer insights to improve care delivery. This case study demonstrates the HIE status in the UAE and focuses on the establishment of Malaffi in Abu Dhabi. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
RESUMEN
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world in different levels from numerous aspects. This deadly, highly contagious viral infection has led to lockdown in many cities across the world;significantly disrupting previously planned educational activities. Objectives: We aim to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the educational and academic activities of the health care professionals practicing in different countries. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a link to an online questionnaire which was sent to doctors, dentists and nurses working in several countries using WhatsApp medical groups. The questionnaire consisted of eight questions related to the impact of COVID-19 on educational and academic activities of the health care professionals (HCPs). Results: 898 responses received from doctors (66.5%), nurses (21%) and dentist (12.5%), working in 36 countries. 66.6% of respondents think their academic activities are less than what it was before the pandemic. However, 63% of participants have attended more webinars and 58% have completed more on-line courses and e-learning sessions during the pandemic. Conclusions: COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the academic activities of HCPs. However, COVID-19 health crisis created an opportunity for enriching the educational activities through e-learning, online courses, and webinars. This experience should be utilized in the future, with more online material available.