Global Healthcare Conversations with Mieko Perez ft. Dr. Jaime Claudio

Dr. Jaime Claudio is an Ad-Honorem Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Puerto Rico Medical School. He studied chemical engineering, biochemistry and psychology at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

After completing his medical degree and specialty in family medicine at the University of Puerto Rico, he was awarded a scholarship for postgraduate training in medical education at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

His main professional endeavors include the teaching, research and clinical implementation of integrative humanistic primary care services, medical news communication and scientific literacy initiatives to foster scientific reasoning and behavioral change that foster longevity and wellness.

He is currently serving as director of an educational COVID Task force with a strong presence in TV and social media, COSACOPR.ORG (Coalición Sabiduría Covid-19) which will eventually become the Coalición Salubrista Comunitaria, tackling a broad range of topics that can promote well being and happiness in Puerto Rico and eventually throughout the world.

In 1988, he established the first multidisciplinary research clinic for the management of obesity in Puerto Rico, treating more than 400 patients in the subsequent three years.

From 1995-96 he was Director of the Center for Learning Resources and Medical Informatics at the UPR School of Medicine and Consultant to the Dean of Academics Affairs for Informatics, Telemedicine and Consumer Education Initiatives.

He also collaborated in the curricular innovations fostering problem-based learning and the use of computer resources for continued medical education. Dr. Claudio created the first Internet Literacy Courses for Physicians in Puerto Rico and the first bilingual consumer health site. He authored a biweekly medical television news update program at WAPA TV and TELE-ONCE TV for 16 years from 1983 to 1999.

For the past 5 years his radio health progam SALU+DEMOS, has aired in Radio Isla 1320, having the largest audience of any program during this time slot He has been a medical journalist consultant for Univision PR and NBC Telemundo.

Dr. Claudio has various publications and many presentations in the areas of longevity planning, obesity, nicotine addiction, stress management, aids, consumer informatics, internet, clinical computer literacy and telemedicine.

From 2010 to 2013 years, he one of the five community leaders involved in the Tus 5 Amigos campaign developed by the insurance plan, MMM to reach out to elderly with an assertive health promotion and longevity campaign.

He was also the principal investigator of the Puerto Rico Telemedicine Planning Study for the Government of Puerto Rico as well as the subsequent first Teleradiology pilot project between the Vieques Island and the San Juan Tertiary Medical Center.

He is presently focused on patient and primary care research with participations in ALLHAT and PREVENT Hypertension clinical trials, as well the SELECT prostate cancer prevention trial, where he was co-author of the research findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). His research team has been active in more than 25 research studies, including the ongoing large SPRINT Hypertension Trial.

Another passion of Dr. Claudio's is the teaching, research, and clinical implementation of medical cannabis solutions in primary care and for consumer empowerment. He has evaluated over 4,000 patients and certified over 800 physicians to recommend medical cannabis. He is founding member of the Puerto Rican Medical and Scientific Cannabinoid Society.

He is also a member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, The Society of Cannabinoid Physicians, and the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine (AACM).Dr. Claudio is the recipient of the 2010 Physician of the Year and the the Betances Medical Humanities Award in 2016.