Enhancing research support services in health organizations by implementing a "Research Concierge Desk", a case study.

Health organizations with teaching and research responsibilities face the need to establish a comprehensive system that addresses the processes and challenges associated with research activities; a system that assists local institutes in becoming research-active by identifying gaps and providing actionable recommendations. The involvement of epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and data scientists is paramount in offering technical and scientific support to health researchers. In our organization, research support services, such as technical, statistical, logistical, and scientific assistance, have been provided to researchers for the past 20 years under the name of "Data Clinic Service". This article discusses the establishment of a physical booth called the "Research Concierge Desk" within a medical center to offer on-site, free-of-charge, and direct consultations to researchers, thereby improving accessibility to data clinic services. The underlying concept of the "Research Concierge Desk" is to align the research workflow for busy clinicians, who require vital assistance in the technical aspects of their research. As well, the desk and its digital platform enabled us to assess research process workflow, such as research submission, data clinic requests, research progress tracking, and researcher satisfaction assessment. We present the initiation of the "Research Concierge Desk" as an innovative solution in hospital settings, outline the available resources, benefits, challenges, and propose areas for improvement. The experience gained from implementing the "Research Concierge Desk" model can greatly benefit other health centers in adopting a similar approach to develop enhanced services for clinical researchers.

Assessment of Telemedicine Usage Among Saudis During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine was the first line of defense during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Saudi Arabia believes it is essential to emphasize telemedicine services to combat the virus as part of its early precautionary actions. OBJECTIVES: To measure the prevalence of telemedicine usage and determine the facilitators and barriers affecting telemedicine usage. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Saudis from October 2020 to April 2021. Participants received an online questionnaire through multiple social media platforms. RESULTS: The prevalence of telemedicine usage was 45.2%. The most significant facilitator that affected the participants' usage was avoiding the infection of COVID-19, at 87.3%. In-person consultation preference was the biggest barrier preventing Saudis from using telemedicine services (62.5%). CONCLUSION: Not enough people are aware of telemedicine services, so it is recommended to multiply advertisements for the services provided to reach many users. To enhance Saudi Arabia's awareness of the risks of COVID-19, further studies are needed to assess telemedicine usage during COVID-19, since the majority of studies were conducted in advance.