Gov't urged to provide nationwide 'wireless' health access
By Tam Noda (philstar.com) Updated May 24, 2012 03:16 PM
MAKATI CITY, Philippines - Announcing today the expansion of the
Wireless Access for Health (WAH) project initiated by the people of
Tarlac province, local officials urged the national government to
support their project to improve health care in the Philippines using 3G
technology.
Officials in the town of Gerona in Tarlac, who initiated WAH in 2009,
made the announcement in a press briefing in Makati City together with
representatives from the Department of Health (DoH), Tarlac Provincial
Health Office and IT company Qualcomm Incorporated.
Local Tarlac government officials have committed to support the
replication of the WAH project across the entire province by the end of
2012.
Dennis Norman Go, the mayor of Gerona town in Tarlac where the first WAH
project came to life, said the national government and local government
should be partners in fulfilling the mandate of delivering quality
healthcare and that Tarlac is a shining example that LGUs can do it.
Go said the expansion targets to reach 38 healthcare centers in Tarlac
province by end of 2012.
WAH partners explained that traditionally, information has been manually
recorded on paper by health care providers – a time consuming and error
prone process that is difficult to access and manage.
The Philippine Field Health Service Information System (FHSIS) is the
government's primary method for managing public health data and is used
for policy analysis and planning at all levels of the public health system.
The WAH project streamlines the reporting process and improves access to
accurate and timely patient information for clinicians and decision
makers by utilizing 3G wireless technology, building upon and
strengthening the existing Community Health Information Tracking System
(CHITS), an electronic medical records system developed by the
University of the Philippines, Manila.
Since the project began in July 2009, WAH partners have established
CHITS as their own electronic medical record (EMR) platform and
successfully expanded implementation from four rural health units to 21
health clinics in the Tarlac Province, serving more than 1,500 patients
a day.
As of April 2012, more than 109,000 patient consultations have been
captured by the system, resulting in improved patient and increased
number of patient visits as a result of efficiencies that have reduced
the four to five minutes needed to search paper records to just seconds.
Due to the success of the pilot project, the Tarlac Provincial
government has committed staffing and financial resources to replicate
the project in all 38 health provincial clinics, which will make Tarlac
the first and only province in the Philippines to have all of its health
clinics interconnected and running on a health information system.
"Wireless Access for Health empowers local health care providers through
enhanced patient care services and efficient patient visits using an
open-source health information system. It empowers local communities by
promoting participatory health planning among local leaders, health
managers and providers, thereby transforming clients and patients into
partners," said Crispinita Valdez, director of the Department of Health
Information Management System Division.
Yet for Ricardo Ramos of the Tarlac Provincial Health Office, the WAH
initiative is a means to deliver quality health services to clients, aid
health workers and local and national governments by promoting
data-driven planning and sound decision-making.
"Timely transmission of complete and reliable health data to local and
national health agencies and government leaders facilitates policy
analysis and allows faster program implementation, assisting local
leaders and health workers in identifying and preventing disease
outbreaks through preventive care, strategic health promotions and
advocacy campaigns," Ramos said.
WAH's expansion will also include province-wide pilot testing of the
Mobile Midwife and SPASMS (Synchronized Patient Alert via SMS) applications.
The Mobile Midwife enables data to be captured electronically during
patient visits via smartphones, tablets or laptops and instantly sends
patient data to the CHITS system.
SPASMS is an automated alert and health promotions system that sends
patients information related to important health milestones such as for
prenatal care and child immunization. To date, 26 midwives are
participating in the Mobile Midwife program and 1,100 SPASMS have been
sent to more than 250 patients.
WAH is made possible through the collaboration of public-private
partners such as agencies from the DoH including the National
Epidemiology Center, the Information Management Service and the Center
for Health Development for Region 3; the Provincial Government of
Tarlac; local Tarlac government units; Qualcomm's Wireless Reach
initiative; RTI International; Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART);
Tarlac State University; the University of the Philippines
Manila-National Telehealth Center; and the US Agency for International
Development (USAID).
Mantosh Malhotra, director of Business Development for Qualcomm, said
WAH demonstrates the extraordinary benefits that 3G wireless
connectivity can bring to underserved communities, particularly in the
area of wireless health care.
"We hope that what has been achieved so far will encourage the expansion
of this innovative network to benefit hundreds of thousands throughout
the Philippines," Malhotra said.
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