Thomasian Nurses host Seminar on Health Informatics
August 12, 2010 8:30 am | by Noel Banez, RN | Posted in News
UPM-NThC Director Dr. Alvin B. Marcelo emphasizes the need for Standards in Health Informatics during the August 11 seminar at UST.
Manila, Philippines – Senior student nurses of the University of the Santo Tomas (UST) recently hosted the Seminar on Health Informatics last August 11, 2010 at the St. Martin de Porres Cinematorium, Medicine Building in España, Manila.
The one-day seminar was a collaboration between the senior student nurses and the University of the Philippines Manila – National Telehealth Center (UPM-NThC). The undertaking was part of the activities for the student nurses requirement for their Nursing Leadership and Management course in organizing forums or seminars. It was attended by the graduating nursing class comprising of 10 sections and faculty members of the UST College of Nursing led by Associate Professor and Dean Glenda A. Vargas, R.N., M.A.N.
“We are thankful that Dr. Alvin Marcelo and his team from the U.P. Manila – National Telehealth Center shared their expertise on health informatics,” said Lorraine Leyden Sy, Co-Chair of the seminar.
The seminar featured topics on “Standard and Policies on Health Informatics”; “The Impact of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Health”; and “Ethics in Health Informatics” which were discussed by the UPM-NThC Dir. Alvin B. Marcelo. An overview of the OneHealth programs and projects of the UPM-NThC were highlighted by UPM-NThC Telehealth Services Coordinator Dr. Alex I. Gavino.
The afternoon session of the seminar showcased health informatics applications that are currently developed and utilized in the country. These include “The Nurse’s Role in Community Health Information Tracking System or CHITS” by CHITS and Primary Health Care Informatics Coordinator Noel A. Bañez; “OpenMRS: a Free and Open Source Medical Record System” by OpenMRS Implementer and Trainer Dr. Jonathan M. Galingan; “iPath: Creating and Online Community for Health” by Project Manager of TB Diagnostic Committee (TBDC) Dr. Paul Nimrod B. Firaza; and “The Importance of Geographical Information Systems in Health” by Public Health Informatics and GIS (Geographical Information Systems) for Health consultant Wayne Dell L. Manuel.
The health informatics seminar also highlighted the importance of the internet as a nursing resource as discussed by Telehealth Nurse and Coordinator for Knowledge Management Arturo M. Ongkeko Jr. while the emerging career in telehealth nursing in the Philippines was discussed by Telehealth Nurse and NCR Project Coordinator Isidor F. Cardenas.
An open forum was also conducted with the UPM-NThC team answering the questions from the audience. The seminar also featured an online question and answer using Ajax chat which was extensively utilized by the students and the resource speakers.
The seminar series at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas was the first roadshow that UPM-NThC has undertaken in order to heighten the awareness of health informatics among the medical and allied medical professionals in the country. The UPM-NThC also hopes to collaborate with educational institutions and organizations in Baguio City, Cebu, Davao, and Zamboanga to bridge the gap on the emerging field of health informatics in the Philippines.
