Assaf Sharon - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Assaf Sharon
of 2008 and the end of 2015, the percentage of survivors eligible for benefits under the CLTCI La... more of 2008 and the end of 2015, the percentage of survivors eligible for benefits under the CLTCI Law will decline by only 17%. Under Israel's CLTCI Law, services are provided for the general population of elders with impaired functioning according to three levels of benefits: elders partially dependent on the help of another (91%), elders largely dependent on the help of another (150%), and elders entirely dependent on the help of another (168%). The Foundation subsidizes additional hours of care for survivors belonging to the latter two groups. Some survivors eligible for the higher benefits due to disability receive a reduced service benefit from the National Insurance Institute (NII) since their income is above the eligibility threshold. The Foundation does not help survivors receiving a reduced NII benefit due to their relatively high income, which is equivalent or greater than the average wage in Israel. Survivors whose income is 1.5 times greater than the average salary are not at all eligible for services under the CLTCI Law.
Harefuah, 2011
In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community on-line medical records ("OFEK") wa... more In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community on-line medical records ("OFEK") was established at Clalit Health Services to reduce costs and improve medical care. To examine the utilization of OFEK and its impact on quality indicators and medical-service utilization. Examining frequency of use of OFEK with OFEK's own track-log data; "before" and "after" data were used to compare changes in quality indicators and service utilization for experimental versus control groups. Use of OFEK in primary-care clinics increased by hundreds of percent from 2005 to 2006 and continued rising in 2007 and 2008, albeit more slowly. At clinics in hospital catchment areas using OFEK extensively, the system reduced utilization of imaging services and, to a lesser extent laboratory use, and improved several quality measures. Analyses of the data from all catchment areas and from all study clinics revealed much weaker effects. In hospitals, the use of OFEK increased...
International Journal of Medical Informatics, 2010
In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community on-line medical records (OFEK) was implemente... more In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community on-line medical records (OFEK) was implemented at Clalit Health Services (CHS). The goals of the study were to examine the extent of OFEK's use and its impact on quality indicators and medical-service utilization in Internal Medicine and General Surgery wards of CHS hospitals. Methods: Examining the frequency of OFEK's use with its own track-log data; comparing, "before" and "after", quality indicators and service utilization data in experimental (CHS patients) versus control groups (other patients). Results: OFEK's use increased by tens of percentages each year, Internal Medicine wards showed a significant decrease in the number of laboratory tests and 3 CT tests performed compared with the control group. Wards using OFEK extensively showed a greater decrease in CT tests, in one imaging test, and in the average number of ambulatory hospitalizations. No similar changes were found in General Surgery wards. Conclusions: The study helps evaluate the extent to which OFEK's targets were achieved and contributes to the development of measures to examine the impact of such systems, which can be used to assess a broad range of Health Information Technology (HIT) systems.
Informatics for Health and Social Care, 2011
In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community, on-line medical records (OFEK) was introduce... more In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community, on-line medical records (OFEK) was introduced in Clalit Health Services (CHS). To examine OFEK's use and impact on quality indicators and medical-service utilisation in CHS primary-care clinics. Examining the frequency of OFEK's use with its own track-log data; comparing 'before' and 'after' quality indicators and service utilisation of experimental versus control clinics. Use of OFEK increased by hundreds of percent between 2005 and 2006, continued rising at a slower rate in 2007 and decreased slightly in 2008. At clinics in catchment areas of hospitals using OFEK extensively, OFEK reduced the number of imaging tests and, to a lesser extent, laboratory testing and improved several quality measures. An examination of all clinics in the catchment areas and in the study revealed a much weaker impact. OFEK's introduction affected a number of outcome measures - some, significantly - in medical and financial terms. Its increased use at additional clinics may exert a stronger impact there, too. The study contributes to the development of measures to examine the impact of such systems, which can be used to assess a broad range of Health Information Technology (HIT) systems.
Health research policy and systems / BioMed Central, Jan 10, 2014
Ensuring the use of research evidence in health system management and policy decisions is an impo... more Ensuring the use of research evidence in health system management and policy decisions is an important challenge in this century. Knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) has emerged as a paradigm to address the challenges and start closing the 'know-do' gap. This area of work is gaining momentum in most developed countries, yet, to date, no work has been performed in Israel within this area. The purpose of this study was to identify which KTE activities health systems and policy researchers in Israel have undertaken. A cross-sectional web-based survey of researchers who have conducted health systems and policy research in Israel was developed. The survey consisted of a demographics section, quantitative scales, and open-ended questions. The survey was sent to all health systems and policy researchers in Israel (n = 125). The study response rate (28%) was relatively low as compared to other studies in the same field (range of 42% to 88%). Our survey found that more than a third...
of 2008 and the end of 2015, the percentage of survivors eligible for benefits under the CLTCI La... more of 2008 and the end of 2015, the percentage of survivors eligible for benefits under the CLTCI Law will decline by only 17%. Under Israel's CLTCI Law, services are provided for the general population of elders with impaired functioning according to three levels of benefits: elders partially dependent on the help of another (91%), elders largely dependent on the help of another (150%), and elders entirely dependent on the help of another (168%). The Foundation subsidizes additional hours of care for survivors belonging to the latter two groups. Some survivors eligible for the higher benefits due to disability receive a reduced service benefit from the National Insurance Institute (NII) since their income is above the eligibility threshold. The Foundation does not help survivors receiving a reduced NII benefit due to their relatively high income, which is equivalent or greater than the average wage in Israel. Survivors whose income is 1.5 times greater than the average salary are not at all eligible for services under the CLTCI Law.
Harefuah, 2011
In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community on-line medical records ("OFEK") wa... more In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community on-line medical records ("OFEK") was established at Clalit Health Services to reduce costs and improve medical care. To examine the utilization of OFEK and its impact on quality indicators and medical-service utilization. Examining frequency of use of OFEK with OFEK's own track-log data; "before" and "after" data were used to compare changes in quality indicators and service utilization for experimental versus control groups. Use of OFEK in primary-care clinics increased by hundreds of percent from 2005 to 2006 and continued rising in 2007 and 2008, albeit more slowly. At clinics in hospital catchment areas using OFEK extensively, the system reduced utilization of imaging services and, to a lesser extent laboratory use, and improved several quality measures. Analyses of the data from all catchment areas and from all study clinics revealed much weaker effects. In hospitals, the use of OFEK increased...
International Journal of Medical Informatics, 2010
In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community on-line medical records (OFEK) was implemente... more In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community on-line medical records (OFEK) was implemented at Clalit Health Services (CHS). The goals of the study were to examine the extent of OFEK's use and its impact on quality indicators and medical-service utilization in Internal Medicine and General Surgery wards of CHS hospitals. Methods: Examining the frequency of OFEK's use with its own track-log data; comparing, "before" and "after", quality indicators and service utilization data in experimental (CHS patients) versus control groups (other patients). Results: OFEK's use increased by tens of percentages each year, Internal Medicine wards showed a significant decrease in the number of laboratory tests and 3 CT tests performed compared with the control group. Wards using OFEK extensively showed a greater decrease in CT tests, in one imaging test, and in the average number of ambulatory hospitalizations. No similar changes were found in General Surgery wards. Conclusions: The study helps evaluate the extent to which OFEK's targets were achieved and contributes to the development of measures to examine the impact of such systems, which can be used to assess a broad range of Health Information Technology (HIT) systems.
Informatics for Health and Social Care, 2011
In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community, on-line medical records (OFEK) was introduce... more In 2005, an innovative system of hospital-community, on-line medical records (OFEK) was introduced in Clalit Health Services (CHS). To examine OFEK's use and impact on quality indicators and medical-service utilisation in CHS primary-care clinics. Examining the frequency of OFEK's use with its own track-log data; comparing 'before' and 'after' quality indicators and service utilisation of experimental versus control clinics. Use of OFEK increased by hundreds of percent between 2005 and 2006, continued rising at a slower rate in 2007 and decreased slightly in 2008. At clinics in catchment areas of hospitals using OFEK extensively, OFEK reduced the number of imaging tests and, to a lesser extent, laboratory testing and improved several quality measures. An examination of all clinics in the catchment areas and in the study revealed a much weaker impact. OFEK's introduction affected a number of outcome measures - some, significantly - in medical and financial terms. Its increased use at additional clinics may exert a stronger impact there, too. The study contributes to the development of measures to examine the impact of such systems, which can be used to assess a broad range of Health Information Technology (HIT) systems.
Health research policy and systems / BioMed Central, Jan 10, 2014
Ensuring the use of research evidence in health system management and policy decisions is an impo... more Ensuring the use of research evidence in health system management and policy decisions is an important challenge in this century. Knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) has emerged as a paradigm to address the challenges and start closing the 'know-do' gap. This area of work is gaining momentum in most developed countries, yet, to date, no work has been performed in Israel within this area. The purpose of this study was to identify which KTE activities health systems and policy researchers in Israel have undertaken. A cross-sectional web-based survey of researchers who have conducted health systems and policy research in Israel was developed. The survey consisted of a demographics section, quantitative scales, and open-ended questions. The survey was sent to all health systems and policy researchers in Israel (n = 125). The study response rate (28%) was relatively low as compared to other studies in the same field (range of 42% to 88%). Our survey found that more than a third...