Development and validation of an electronic frailty index in a national health maintenance organization.

Background: Frailty constitutes a major factor that puts the elderly at risk of health and functional deterioration.

Objectives: To develop and validate an Electronic Frailty Index based on electronic data routinely collected in the HMO.

Study Design And Setting: A retrospective cohort of the HMO members.

The critical factors for COVID-19 vaccination uptake are perceived ‎vaccine effectiveness and the desire to protect others.

The proportion of the population vaccinated in Israel against COVID-19 in 2021 was significantly higher than that of the annual uptake rates of the influenza vaccine over time. Understanding the reasons behind the high vaccination rate may facilitate maintaining these rates if annual COVID-19 vaccination is required. Using a mixed-methods design, we characterized the individuals who were vaccinated and studied their attitudes toward vaccines and motivators for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Automated versus manual prior authorization for diabetes mellitus drugs: A retrospective study from Israel.

Introduction: Drug prior authorization (PA) imposes a bureaucratic and economic burden on healthcare service providers and payers. A novel automated PA system may improve these drawbacks.

Methods: An historical cohort study from a large health maintenance organization in Israel, comparing manual versus automated PA mechanisms for diabetes mellitus (DM) drugs: sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs (GLP1-A).

The efficacy of calorimetry-based nutritional support versus recommended dietary intake-based nutritional support in the successful weaning of chronically ventilated patients: A study protocol for a double blind randomized controlled trial.

Background & Aims: Mechanically ventilated patients are weaned during acute care hospitalization when it is determined that they are ready for withdrawal. If weaning fails, patients are admitted to a rehabilitation medical center for continued supportive care and additional weaning attempts. This study's objective is to increase the success rate of weaning from prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV), and to shorten the overall weaning period by tailoring the patient's caloric intake according to their individually measured energy needs.