UPM NThC presents eTBDC project at the PhilCAT Convention
August 22, 2010 2:30 am | by Nimrod Firaza, MD | Posted in News
Dr. Paul Nimrod Firaza presenting in 17th Annual PhilCAT Convention
Tuberculosis (TB) control remains to be a major concern in the Philippines especially in remote and underserved areas. In the 17th Annual PhilCAT Convention held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel last August 19-20, 2010, researches, updates and solutions were discussed to help realize the vision of a TB Free Philippines.
Among the researches that were presented was entitled “Electronic TB Diagnostic Committees: Using Telehealth to Provide Expertise to Remote and Underserved Areas in the Philippines”. In this research an online telemedicine solution was being used to address the physical, technical and financial limitations of the existing TB Diagnostic Committees. iPath (a free and open source software platform for telehealth), was used to demonstrate the potential of information technology to mitigate these health human resource limitations by linking specialists in disparate locations through the Internet.
By using this telemedicine solution, they can interact electronically at their convenience without the accompanying expenses such as lost opportunities. It will also address the challenges facing delay in diagnosis related to the infrequent meetings of the TBDC with an easily accessible and standardized Ipath. Hence, the lesser the delay in diagnosis and treatment, the shorter a TB patient is left untreated, the shorter the exposure of the family and the community to the bacilli and a more efficient TB control program is expected.
