Emirates Week » Education

The Kensington Nursery Marks Official Opening of New Facility at Dubai Silicon Oasis

strategicsolutionsonline — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:27:32 +0000

Nursery Supports Early Years development
Dubai, UAE: January 31, 2012 – The Kensington Nursery today marked the inauguration of its new facility at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the integrated free zone technology park.

Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), and Badr Al-Olama, owner of the purpose-designed preschool, inaugurated the opening of The Kensington Nursery. The event was also attended by senior officials from DSO and The Kensington Nursery.

Dr. Al Zarooni said: “We are delighted to welcome The Kensington Nursery to Dubai Silicon Oasis as we believe it is important for children to gain premium education opportunities during their early years. The Kensington Nursery is a world-class facility and its strategic location adds to the integrated lifestyle offered in the DSO community. We are positive that this facility will allow our young residents to experience a wonderful environment during their preschool years.”

The Kensington Nursery offers the British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum educating children from as young as four months up to five years of age.

Al-Olama said: “This purpose-built facility has been carefully constructed to provide the best possible environment for the EYFS curriculum and children’s learning objectives. We appreciate Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority for its constant support which has allowed us to create an exceptional preschool environment within an extraordinary time-frame of less than six months. Today, more than 150 young children are enjoying the benefits of a premium preschool education at the newly constructed nursery at DSO.”

The preschool, a first for the DSO community, features a language ‘majlis’ for Arabic and IT familiarisation, as well as an Art Attack room, an indoor soft play area and a dedicated music room. The expansive outdoor area provides climbing and activity centres, sand and water play areas, an outdoor classroom, and a stand-alone pet zone.

Al-Olama added: “The British EYFS programme supports our belief in the importance of learning through play and interaction, and reinforces our commitment to encouraging a life-long love for learning. The Kensington Nursery at Dubai Silicon Oasis is part of our larger ambition to elevate the standard of early learning education in the region and we have a number of new initiatives in the pipeline.”

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Media contact:
vanessa@strategicsolutionsonline.com +971 55 531 4846;
sarah@strategicsolutionsonline.com + 971 50 980 3810

Abu Dhabi gears up for success through Change Management; 13 sector experts speak out

strategicsolutionsonline — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:26:06 +0000

Business leaders, field experts and management professionals to attend conference;

Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) – Middle East 2012
“Succeeding through Change Management”
February 1-2, 2012
Radisson Blu Hotel, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Dubai January 31 2012: Change agents’ Wendy Appel and Susan Furness are set to energise timely conversation among the region’s business sector at this week’s second upcoming ‘Succeeding through Change Management’ conference.

Organised by the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) in the Middle East, regional and international experts from both the private and public sectors are poised to take the stage in Abu Dhabi to share success stories, discuss ideas, and present best practices in the field of Change Management.

Khaled Al-Mobarak, Conference Chairman, said that the forum is structured around expert panel discussions and interactive sessions over two days from February 1-2, 2012. Abu Dhabi-based Yas Island’s Radisson Blu Hotel is set to play host to the delegates from diverse business sectors.

“This year’s event is focused on advancing the discipline of Change Management. Delegates are invited to discover the latest research and trends within the field as well as deepen their knowledge and understanding through shared experiences,” he explained.

Furness, a leading PR expert is slated to lead the day one agenda which features discussions on Sustainable Energy for Success, Change Management in ERP Implementation, Guerilla Transformation, Sustainable Development, Promoting a Culture of Change through Employees, and Using Situated Learning to Enable Human Performance.

“Events like this provide a platform for Change Management professionals who lead the people-side of change, to meet, collaborate and develop industry standards to ensure a globally recognised discipline is in place,” shared Al-Mobarak.

Wendy Appel, a Mallorca-based leadership consultant and author who is scheduled to host an interactive panel session which brings Change Management strategies under the spotlight echoed Al-Mobarak’s sentiments. She suggested that the leaders of the new paradigm need brave hearts. “As managers and leaders we need to take action and talk in before we talk out and be brave. It is time to take time to look inside ourselves before we speak out as leaders.”

Appel and Furness will join Ahmad Al Mulla (Information Technology), Ibrahim Moosa Jamel (TECOM Investment’s Education Cluster), Tala Al Ansari (ENOC), Tom Marsicano (Interactive Learning Solutions Ltd), Mehryar Entezari (SAP), Jayme Johnson (IBM Global Business Services), Robert Ryan (IBM Global Business), Joseph Paris Jr. (XONITEK Group of Companies), Maria Sillanpaa (Sustainability Advisory Group), Emad El Maghraby (Johnson & Johnson Middle East), Dr. Alaa Garad (International Performance Excellence) and Farida Ansari (IBM Global Business Services).

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For media enquiries, please contact:
Vanessa Garcia on +971 55 531 4846, vanessa@strategicsolutionsonline.com

ALHOSN University fully automates key student services

orientplanet — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:12:27 +0000

December 21, 2011
ALHOSN University, a leading Abu Dhabi-based university dedicated to high-quality value-based education, has launched new online modules for course registration and payment requests at its website as part of efforts to optimize key student services.
Students can now avail of the services 24/7 via the university portal. Each student request is fully processed online with input from instructors and the Admissions Office, whose staff will monitor all transactions to ensure high-quality service delivery. ALHOSN has also launched the Online Academic Advisor (OAA), a new program designed to enable students to better organize their course schedules. The OAA can help predict the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) and suggest which courses should be retaken to raise the CGPA. The new services are part of efforts to further enhance ALHOSN’s website, which recently recorded 4,915,063 visits to advance closer to the 5-million mark since being re-launched in July 2009 with more advanced features and capabilities.
“Our new online services will make important campus procedures fairer, faster and more accessible. They reflect our focus on technology and how it can make the learning process more efficient and user-friendly at the same time. We are eyeing more strategic improvements to our student services that can draw on the capabilities, reach and convenience of our website,”said Prof. Abdul Rahim Sabouni, Vice Chancellor and CEO, ALHOSN University.
Named after Abu Dhabi’s historic ALHOSN Palace, ALHOSN University was founded in 2005 by the Abu Dhabi Holding Company in response to growing local demand for high-quality, value-based educational institutions. It currently offers 11 undergraduate and 7 graduate programs under the Faculties of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Business, and Arts and Social Sciences. ALHOSN accepts students of all nationalities and also accommodates youths with special needs. All its programs are accredited by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

ALHOSN University & building SMART ME organize Building Information Modeling workshop

orientplanet — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:07:32 +0000

December 20, 2011
ALHOSN University, an Abu Dhabi–based private educational institution dedicated to ‘global knowledge with a local vision,’ has conducted a Building Information Modeling (BIM) Workshop in cooperation with building SMART ME (BSME), the regional arm of the non-profit international alliance representing construction-related businesses. The event is the first of a series of BIM workshops and events that will mold ALHOSN into Abu Dhabi City’s BIM center.
The university’s Society of Women in Engineering (SOWIE) sponsored the initiative with BSME. Two workshops were separately conducted in mid-December for female and male students and covered Demolition, Operation and Maintenance, Construction Logistics, 4D/5D Construction, Fabrication, Documentation, Analysis, Detailed and Conceptual Design, Programming, and Renovation.
Workshop participants qualified for a Certificate in Building Information Modeling (BIM Level I) and will be able to enroll in future higher-level BIM training programs. ALHOSN’s Departments of Civil and Architectural Engineering jointly coordinated the BIM events at the ALHOSN Campus.
“BIM is becoming a major platform for project management and engineering as it represents a new way of approaching the design and documentation of building projects. It offers numerous time, quality and profitability advantages over traditional methods such as computer-aided design. As a member of BSME, ALHOSN feels privileged to be sharing key concepts of the BIM paradigm, especially among female faculty and students whom we highly encourage to take active roles in the engineering field,” said Dr. Reem Sabouni, Assistant Professor at the Civil Engineering Department and Vice President of SOWIE, ALHOSN University.
Named after Abu Dhabi’s historic ALHOSN Palace, ALHOSN University was founded in 2005 by the Abu Dhabi Holding Company in response to growing local demand for high-quality, value-based educational institutions. It currently offers 11 undergraduate and 7 graduate programs under the Faculties of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Business, and Arts and Social Sciences. ALHOSN accepts students of all nationalities and also accommodates youths with special needs. All its programs are accredited by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. As a key member of BSME, ALHOSN has been teaming up with the alliance on various seminars, conferences and workshops to spread awareness on BIM and its benefits.

AWAL lends technical expertise at ‘First Meeting for Social Development Committees in Riyadh’

orientplanet — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:53:48 +0000

December 19, 2011
AWAL, a leading information technology (IT) services provider in Saudi Arabia, participated as an official IT sponsor at the ‘First Meeting for Social Development Committees in Riyadh’ held under the patronage of H.R.H. Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, Emir of Riyadh and Minister of Defense. The two-day meeting – which was recently held at the InterContinental Hotel’s King Faisal Hall – featured seven panel sessions covering the state, role and success stories of social development committees and looked into suggestions on how to develop the activities of the committees.

AWAL’s participation in the event is in line with its strategy of supporting the development of the local community and contributing to the deployment of IT capabilities to meet growth requirements and leverage growth opportunities. The company is committed to actively participating in other local industry events and supporting various governmental efforts.

AWAL is a subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Group. It offers a range of services including consulting, managed IT solutions, building IT infrastructure and data centre services.

ACER Releases United Arab Emirates Results of PISA 2009+ Participant Economies

ME NewsWire — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 06:53:50 +0000

MELBOURNE, Australia – Friday, December 16th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

-(BUSINESS WIRE)– The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) this morning released the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009+ results for ten economies.

PISA is an international comparative survey of 15-year-olds’ knowledge and skills in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy, conducted by ACER. It measures how well young adults have acquired the knowledge and skills that are required to function as successful members of society.

Sixty-four economies originally participated in PISA 2009. Ten additional partner participants, who were unable to participate within the PISA 2009 project timeframe, participated in the PISA 2009 study on a reduced and delayed timeline in 2010. This is known as the PISA 2009+ project.

The PISA 2009+ economies are: Costa Rica, Georgia, India (Himachal Pradesh & Tamil Nadu), Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Venezuela (Miranda), Moldova, United Arab Emirates. PISA 2009+ involved testing just over 46 000 students across these ten economies, representing a total of about 1 377 000 15-year-olds.

ACER CEO, Professor Geoff Masters, said the results found that in the PISA 2009+ economies, girls significantly outperformed boys in reading (reflecting the PISA 2009 results).

“Girls not only tended to attain higher reading scores than boys, they were also more aware of strategies for understanding, remembering and summarising information,” Professor Masters said.

“Students who are highly aware of effective strategies for learning who also regularly read a wide range of material, tend to demonstrate better reading proficiency than those who either have a lower awareness of effective strategies or read a narrower range of materials regularly.”

Professor Masters said that while school level factors account for a considerable proportion of variation in reading performance between schools, much of this is associated with socioeconomic and demographic factors.

“This suggests that policies around governance, accountability, the investment of educational resources and the overall learning environment are influenced by the social and demographic intake of the school,” Professor Masters said.

“Schools containing students with higher socioeconomic backgrounds, tend to be more autonomous in their decision about curriculum, make more of assessments for accountability purposes, have better student-teacher relationships, and utilise more educational resources. Students attending these schools have better educational outcomes.”

The results also showed both girls and boys from the PISA 2009+ nations had results in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy that were lower than the OECD average.

The results reveal the following highlights for The United Arab Emirates:

Dubai participated as a separate economy in PISA 2009. The remaining emirates of the United Arab Emirates participated in PISA 2009+. Dubai’s data were merged with that of the remaining emirates and they are reported as a single entity: the United Arab Emirates.
Students in the United Arab Emirates attained an average score on the PISA reading literacy scale, the same as that observed in one OECD country, Mexico. It is also equivalent to those observed in Bulgaria, Miranda-Venezuela, Romania and Uruguay.
60% of students in the United Arab Emirates are estimated to have a proficiency in reading literacy that is at or above the baseline needed to participate effectively and productively in life. This compares to 81% in the OECD countries, on average.
Students in the United Arab Emirates attained an average score on the PISA mathematical literacy scale that is statistically the same as those observed in the two lowest performing OECD countries, Chile and Mexico. In the United Arab Emirates, 49% of students are proficient in mathematics at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the kind of skills that enable them to use mathematics in ways that are considered fundamental for their future development. In the United Arab Emirates, there was a statistically significant gender difference in mathematical literacy, favouring girls.
Students in the United Arab Emirates were estimated to have an average score on the scientific literacy scale that was significantly higher than that estimated for the lowest scoring OECD country, Mexico.
In the United Arab Emirates, 61% of students are proficient in science at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the science competencies that will enable them to participate actively in life situations related to science and technology. This compares to 82% in the OECD countries, on average.
In the United Arab Emirates, there was a statistically significant gender difference in scientific literacy, favouring girls. This gender gap was the largest observed in scientific literacy among all PISA 2009 and PISA 2009+ participants, along with those observed in Jordan and Malta.

To download the PISA 2009+ report, go to: https://mypisa.acer.edu.au/

Contacts

Australian Council for Educational Research

Petros Kosmopoulos, +61 3 9277 5582

Mobile: +61 417 754 570

communications@acer.edu.au

4th Reach Out To Asia Gala Dinner, A Spectacular Success Raising 13 million USD for Education Development Projects in Asia & The Middle East

ME NewsWire — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:42:33 +0000

Doha, Qatar – Tuesday, December 13th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

In the presence of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser, Qatar Foundation Chairperson, the 4th Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) Gala Dinner & Charity Auction raised 13 million USD to support ROTA education projects in troubled Asian communities.

ROTA is a Qatari-based non-profit organization that empowers local communities by providing access to quality primary and secondary education for youth affected by crisis across Asia and the Middle East.

The glittering event at Doha’s Katara Cultural Village welcomed 500 international VIPs, dignitaries and celebrities alongside the supporting Qatari society. Bringing a splash ofglamour to the evening were HRH Prince Waleed bin Talal and his spouse HRH Princess Amira Al Taweel, Austrian President and his spouse, Hayat Al Fahed, Hussein Al Jassmi, Nawal, Nasser Al-Attiyah, Djamel Bouras, Khaled Mouzanar,Bader Jaffar; and Olympic Decathlon Gold Medallist, Bryan Clay from the US. Master of Ceremonies is a 5-time Olympian Charmaine Crooks.

Gala Dinner guests were introduced to Shahzad, one of 3,000 Pakistani youth who participated in ROTA’s ‘Generation Amazing’ football development program in partnership with Qatar2022 bid committee, delivered an emotional speech recounting his experiences gained from this program.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdalla Al Thani, ROTA Ambassador commented in his recorded testimonial shown at the event, on the role that ROTA plays in empowering the youth:” I achieve my personal goals through natural ambition and by giving myself the right tools to fulfil those aims. In the same way, ROTA believes and recognizes that youth are the vehicles of change for our communities.

ROTA Chairperson Sheikha Al Mayassa bint HamadAl Thanipresented the ROTA Lifetime Achievement Award to His Excellency Abdulla bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister, in recognition of hisoutstanding dedication and commitment to Qatar’s progress.

H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassah commented, “ROTA is proud to honor H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Attiyah for his ceaseless efforts on behalf of the people of Qatar. His Excellency is a shining example to us and a proof that hard work, dedication and a bold vision can create a stable, prosperousand progressive society”.

UAE singer-composer and UN Ambassador At Large, Hussein Al Jassmi and Grammy Award-winning Korean soprano Sumi Jo gave superlative performances to entertain the privileged audience.

Bringing the 4th ROTA Gala Dinner to a spectacular conclusion was a Charity Auction managed by worldfamous auction house Sotheby’s and conducted by Lord Poltimore Sotheby’s Europe Deputy Chairman.

Altruistic guests took the opportunity to purchase several uniqueauctionitems including a PorschePanamera 4S Middle East Edition, a set of astonishing earrings donated personally by actress Angelina Jolie, VIP tickets for the FC Barcelona versus Real Madrid ‘El Clasico’ football match and works of art by acclaimed artists Richard Serra,Damien Hirst, Cai Guo Qiang, Matthew Day Jackson and Yousaf Ahmad. In addition, a work of art by children with special needs from Qatar’s Al Koora Art project was auctioned off.

“In just six years, ROTA projects have provided 50,000 students with a quality education, created 7,000+ jobs, built or rehabilitated 406 schools and helped 1.5 million community members in 10 countries. Funds raised tonight will enable ROTA to continue working with partners, volunteers, and local communities to ensure thousands of children across Asia receive their basic human right of primary and secondary education,” said ROTA Director, Mr. Essa Al Mannai

The 4th ROTA Gala Dinner enjoyed the support of leading Qatari corporations: Msheireb Properties as the event Gold Sponsor, Qatar Petroleum as the Silver Sponsor, and Qatar Vinyl Company Limited as the Bronze Sponsor.

For further information, please visit our website www.reachouttoasia.org

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Contacts

Qatar Foundation

Passent El Soury

Media Relations Coordinator

+974 44541634

palsourie@qf.org.qa

MBA Employers Name World’s Top 200 Business Schools

ME NewsWire — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:36:08 +0000

LONDON – Monday, December 5th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)– The annual report of the world’s top 200 business schools according to MBA employers is released today on www.topmba.com.

Over 2000 responses were received from 42 countries, making this the largest survey of its kind.

The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report, provides an alternative to traditional MBA rankings by highlighting the value of MBA programs around the world according to the qualification’s end consumer- the MBA employer.

MBA employers were asked to identify the business schools they prefer to recruit from.

Respondents also identified business schools they deem to produce excellent hires in ten areas of elective specialization: finance; strategy; marketing; entrepreneurship; corporate social responsibility; information management; innovation and international management.

Top three business schools by region

Region

2011 position

Business School

Country

North America

Harvard

Stanford

Kellogg, Northwestern

Latin America

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Chile

Business School Sao Paulo

Brazil

Fundacao Getulio Vargas

Brazil

Europe

INSEAD

France

London Business School

Oxford-Säid

Middle East and Africa

University of Cape Town

South Africa

American University in Cairo

Egypt

University of Stellenbosch

South Africa

Asia-Pacific

INSEAD-Singapore

Singapore

IIM Ahmedabad

India

Melbourne Business School

Australia

Top business schools by specialization

Specialization

Top 3 business schools

Country

Finance

Wharton

Chicago, Booth London Business School

US US UK

International management

INSEAD Harvard Thunderbird

France US US

Marketing

Kellogg, Northwestern Wharton Harvard

US US US

Entrepreneurship

Harvard Stanford Wharton

US US US

Operations management

MIT-Sloan Harvard Wharton

US US

Information management

MIT-Sloan Harvard

Wharton

Strategy

Harvard Wharton INSEAD

US US France

Leadership

Harvard Wharton INSEAD

US US France

Corporate social responsibility

Harvard Stanford INSEAD

US US US

Innovation

MIT-Sloan Stanford Harvard

US US

Nunzio Quacquarelli, managing director of QS says, “Despite the global economic turbulence, the report found record numbers of companies turning towards hiring MBAs. The qualification’s international appeal is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s globally interconnected economy.”

The report allows those considering an MBA to identify business schools which are meeting the needs of international employers and discover newer ones which are gaining reputation.

Full results by region and specialization on www.topmba.com.

Coming up: First QS Online and Distance MBA Ranking, January 2012

Contacts

Simona Bizzozero

+44(0)-7880-620-856

simona@qs.com

Vickie Chiu

+44(0)-207-284-7292

vickie.chiu@qs.com

QRCE concludes Global Entrepreneurship Week 2011

amjadbaker — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:32:42 +0000

21 November 2011, Amman – Celebrated by the Kingdom in the third consecutive year,QueenRaniaCenter for Entrepreneurship concluded Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2011, with more than 40 activities organized in 6 cities.

In partnership with and supported by, IrisGuard, the Week witnessed dozens of lectures, workshops, and training sessions aimed at spawning a spirit of perseverance and entrepreneurship amongst the youth. GEW also included the inauguration of several entrepreneurial programs like the Youngest Businessman initiative and Intel Youth Enterprise.

In his comment, Executive Director at QRCE, Eng. Farhan Kalaldeh praised the participating organizations for their efforts in making this Week a success, saying, “We value partners’ continuous support and efforts to achieve GEW’s goals and objectives. We congratulate Princess Basma Youth Resource Center, DART/PSUT and Jordan Investment Board on being selected as best GEW activities for 2011 in Jordan.”

He added, “While GEW programs contributed to spreading the culture of entrepreneurship amongst the youth, success stories compelled participants to think about entrepreneurship as an option in their career planning. We thank also GEW supporters, El Hassan Business Park, REACH2.0 & Bangaia for their valuable contribution, and we thank all our media partners for their great support for the activities of GEW.

The week included various projects, competitions, visits to some Jordanian universities, and several interactive, educational activities revolving around establishing entrepreneurial companies, managing them, and protecting intellectual property.

“As a technology company that started inJordanand reached regional and global markets, we feel a responsibility towards innovators to prepare and help them realizing their full potentials, and GEW is a program that helps to achieve that.” stated Imad Malhas, Founder & CEO of IrisGuard.

“Our annual participation in GEW aims at supporting the culture of entrepreneurship between difference groups within the Jordanian society, linking Jordanian youth with national, regional, and global activities, establishing a creative and innovative generation capable of economic leadership through the next phase. I think we are achieving that by our partnerships with leading NGOs such as QRCE and supporting global initiatives such as GEW,” he added.

A host of renowned innovators, executives, Investors, and entrepreneurs participated in GEW, in addition to governmental and non-governmental supporters, public and international establishments. All partners presented workshops on their objectives and programs, and explained how to obtain support and funding, and inspired youth to innovate and start new businesses.

It is worth mentioning that Jordan ranked 1st in the Middle East for hosting the GEW 2010. According to the international ranking of 105 countries, Jordan’s hosting of the GEW was the best in the region, and worthy to be ranked 16^th globally, and first regionally.

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For more information, please call

PR Launchers / Tel: 00 962 6 55 20 681 – Fax: 00 962 6 55 20 681

Email: info@PRLaunchers.net – Web: www.PRLaunchers.net

Researchers at Harvard University Report the Adoption of UpToDate® by Hospitals is Directly Associated with Shortening Patient Stays and Saving Lives

ME NewsWire — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:54:55 +0000

WALTHAM, Mass. – Thursday, November 17th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

Easily-Implemented Clinical Knowledge System is Associated with Saving 11,500 Lives over a Three-Year Period

(BUSINESS WIRE)– New research published today in the Journal of Hospital Medicine Early View found that hospitals using Wolters Kluwer Health’s UpToDate— an evidence-based, physician-authored clinical knowledge system which clinicians trust to make the right point-of-care decisions — experienced shortened hospital stays, fewer deaths, and better quality performance than non-UpToDate hospitals. The study (Isaac T, Zheng J, Ashish J. Use of UpToDate and Outcomes in US Hospitals. J Hosp Med. 2011; DOI 10.1002/jhm.944) reinforces other research studies conducted about how UpToDate improves patient outcomes.

“The data suggests the use of computerized tools such as UpToDate enable better decisions, better outcomes and better care,” said Ashish Jha, MD MPH, Study Author, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a staff physician at Boston VA Healthcare System and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “These findings are significant because they provide evidence that access to clinical management tools such as UpToDate is likely directly associated with lower risk-adjusted mortality.”

Conducted by researchers at Harvard University, the study evaluated performance of US hospitals on a quarter-by-quarter basis, examining quality and efficiency data among Medicare beneficiaries at 1,017 hospitals as they adopted UpToDate compared with 2,305 non-UpToDate hospitals. After considering multiple other possible factors, the adoption of UpToDate emerged as an independent predictor of reduced mortality, shorter hospital length of stay, and better performance on widely used hospital quality metrics.

“When we embarked on this project, it wasn’t clear we’d find an association between the use of UpToDate and the quality measures we set out to study,” said Thomas Isaac, MD, MBA, MPH, Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “The findings demonstrate that UpToDate was associated with improvements for all three quality measures—patient length of stay, hospital quality performance and mortality rate—for hospitals using UpToDate compared to non-UpToDate hospitals.”

Results showed the 1,017 hospitals using UpToDate saved approximately 372,500 hospital days per year and 11,500 lives over the three-year period, cumulatively. Additionally, hospitals with UpToDate had better quality performance for every condition of the Hospital Quality Alliance metrics, which include ratings for the care provided to heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients and represent 4 of the 6 measures that will be used in Medicare’s Value Based Purchasing Program. To view and print a copy of the study, visit www.uptodate.com/jhmoutcomes.

“Although US hospitals are rapidly implementing health information technology, the benefits on hospital outcomes and efficiency have been difficult to demonstrate consistently,” said Peter Bonis, MD, UpToDate’s Chief Medical Officer. “This new study provides further evidence that answering clinicians’ questions at the point of care can have a significant impact on patient safety and quality of care, and that clinical knowledge systems, such as UpToDate, should be considered as an important component of hospital quality initiatives.”

Numerous Studies Demonstrate UpToDate’s Clinical Value

These new findings support dozens of previous studies which demonstrate UpToDate answers clinical questions, improves patient care and improves hospital outcomes. A studypublished in the International Journal of Medical Informatics in 2008, for example, revealed that hospitals with access to UpToDate (N=424) performed significantly better on risk adjusted measures of patient safety and complications and had significantly shorter length of stay compared with hospitals without access. The benefits improved with increasing use of UpToDate. Additional research regarding the benefits UpToDate brings to clinicians can be found at UpToDate.com.

Disclosures

Doctors Ashish Jha and Thomas Isaac jointly wrote all drafts of the manuscript with no input from any outside sources. Dr. Jie Zheng reviewed the Methods section and provided editorial comments on all sections of the paper. The Use of UpToDate and Outcomes in US Hospitals study was funded by UpToDate, Inc.; however, UpToDate had no role in study design, input into analysis presented, drafting or editing the manuscript, nor saw the manuscript prior to submission to the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

About UpToDate

UpToDate® is an evidence-based, physician-authored clinical knowledge system which clinicians trust to make the right point-of-care decisions. UpToDate’s 4,800 world-renowned physician authors, editors and peer reviewers use a rigorous editorial process to synthesize the most recent medical information into trusted, evidence-based recommendations that are proven to improve patient care and quality. More than 450,000 clinicians worldwide and almost 90% of academic medical centers in the US rely on UpToDate, and more than 30 research studiesconfirm UpToDate’s widespread usage and association with improved patient care and hospital performance, including reduced length of stay, adverse complications and mortality.

UpToDate is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2010 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.7 billion).

Contacts

UpToDate

Margaret Strojny, +1-781-392-2493

Director, Marketing Communications

mstrojny@uptodate.com