Imagine getting the appropriate medical and health services, all under accessible technology. Reflecting on our lives, especially when the pandemic stroked, there is no other thing that is more important than health.
The Philippines is now establishing strategies through the eHealth Initiative, which aims to provide transparency, unison, and equity between sectors other than health. Through the implementation of Information and Communication Technology, they seek to develop an infrastructure that will maintain a safe and ethical standard of health practice and services. The Philippine eHealth Services can be defined as the electronic provision of healthcare facilities through a structured application.
The Department of Health (DOH) has been dealing with problems in relation to health care services. The eHealth is closing the gap between the challenges and issues faced by geographic and social complications. Some of these are:
There are many factors why Filipinos have limited access to healthcare services. Firstly, the less privileged do not have the resources to access a facility. It requires a lot of time and money to get the services and access. According to the statistics conducted by the Asian Development Bank, even during the pre-pandemic period, Filipino people do not afford the right and proper treatment that they need.
Secondly, rural areas do not have the opportunity to get the most effective and sufficient access to health because of their geographical locations.
Taking a closer look, there is a lot of medical students who graduated and are still studying. But why are the workers few? The primary reason is the incompetent compensation to healthcare employees. So, the only resort that graduates choose is either to change careers or to find an opportunity outside the country, leaving our own motherland to few workers.
Similar to the inaccessibility to medical facilities, medical supplies are also delayed or undelivered because of a lack of a proper logistics approach. Another factor is the high cost of medical supplies. As a result of limited production here in the Philippines, supplies are imported from other countries, which is another factor for its price increase.
The statistics Amazon Web Services about healthcare and development has shown that most hospitals still use paper data which is a traditional way of recording health information and data. This causes a slowdown in the procurement and delivery of healthcare services as well as a faster way of sharing data for research and development. Two things that Philippine Health Systems should embrace are Cloud (electronic storage for data) and Artificial Intelligence.
The system provides the Philippine eHealth Services by interlinking to its website. The very first online portal was launched in the year 1998 and was re-launched in 2003. After some improvements and following the development of ICT, it was launched again in 2012, adding some features and enhancements. It is an online community where people can interact and share their ideas about specific health conditions. They can also access research, journals, articles, and advisories that can help them better understand some information related to health. It is a partnership between private and public entities to create a source of investment and equity.
What is the main objective of Philippine eHealth Services? It is to properly utilize ICT, which could be beneficial to the economy as it will gain profit, improvement of quality services, development of healthcare practices, and medical access, especially in rural areas.
The whole context of the agenda of the Philippine eHealth Services includes consultation, diagnosis, treatment, education, etc. For a detailed explanation of these, read the following:
Because the Act seeks to provide information and knowledge, imparting things such as health research is provided. More than just a traditional classroom, it aims to provide proper education about medical and health information. E-Learning, or eTURO, supports the national health program by providing short courses and programs related to health fields. The delivery of these courses is through MOOCs or commonly known as the Massive Open Online Courses of healthcare learning. They also offer face-to-face setups, which include trainings and certifications.
Aside from short courses, the online site also imparts knowledge through conferences and forums. It is an avenue to let healthcare professionals share their knowledge and specializations with others interested in pursuing medical fields or people who want to be informed about health-related issues. The forum allows guests and participants to throw some questions about what they are curious about. But be informed that the duration of the conference and forum will be recorded so that it can be used for future documentation for information materials.
In line with the Information and Communication Technology or ICT, the use of software systems for recording patients’ personal information and records is included. It is a good way to easily access the records on a single device. Along with it, electronic prescriptions are also generated so that patients can easily access them. However, the provision of hard copies is still encouraged so that they will serve as a backup.
Along with keeping the records, the government plans to have an Electronic Medical Records Center under the supervision of the Department of Health (DOH) Secretariat Office. It will serve as a security hub for all private information. Do you need assurance for the security and safety of all your provided records? The security feature is a higher form of SSL or Security Socket Layer. All data are encrypted with 128-bit encryption.
A glimpse of this has been introduced during the pandemic. You have noticed online consultations between patients and doctors. One of the agendas under the Philippine eHealth Services is the convenient way to consult and collaborate with healthcare professionals in the comfort of one’s own home. This can be done by creating a platform on social media which could also create a community where they can share their insights.
One of the systems that will help create an effective eHealth service is this knowledge management. It is an IT system that lets you store important information and data. More than that, it can also let you retrieve these data, locate knowledge sources, and many more.
As an assurance, all the data inside the system they call the Electronic Medical or Health Record (EMR or EHR) encrypts all the private information that should not be disclosed to anybody else. It has specific and established rules for authenticating the information, accessing it, and transmission of information.
Overall, the Act only seeks to improve the areas that need proper improvement. It covers all the existing areas under the Department of Health, including institutions, workers, and entities but does not seek to change any of the existing systems. It only creates solutions and bridges the gap between people and health services. Whether you are working in line with health services or just an ordinary person that wants to be informed, the Philippine eHealth Services will be beneficial for all. As their quotation goes, “All for Health Towards Health for All.”
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