NTHC shines in the First Philippine eHealth Summit
February 9, 2014 6:06 pm | by Henri Joshua Igna, RN | Posted in News
DOST Secretary Mario Montejo talks with Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto as a live demonstration of the RxBox, and a video conference, including the governor himself, is being shown at the eHealth Summit.
In today’s world of touch screen phones and high-speed internet, information and communications technology (ICT) permeates every aspect of human life. The Philippines, in fact ranks 12th in the use of mobile phones, making ICT innovations in our country high-impact and in-demand.
Enter eHealth, or ICT’s geared towards improving health care services. Last February 4, 2014, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Health (DOH) hosted the first Philippine eHealth Summit with the theme, “eHealth Innovations for Universal Health Care”, in Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Manila.
“The Summit aims to be a platform for exchange of information and expertise on what has been done and what is currently being done on eHealth in the country,” explains Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) Director Dr. Jaime C. Montoya.
In order to facilitate this information exchange during the event, the event organizers set up an eHealth Marketplace where different exhibitors from all over the Philippines were asked to showcase eHealth innovations, services and researches. The exhibitors include DOST-ICTO (Information and Communications Technology Office), DOH-IMS (Information Management Service), SMART, Ateneo de Manila University, St. Lukes Medical Center, The Medical City, and UP Manila-National Telehealth Center (UP-NTHC).
Dr. Magtubo explains the features of the RxBox while a live demonstration from Villareal Samar is being shown.
One of the most visited exhibits in the Marketplace is the UP-NTHC’s RxBox. The RxBox is a biomedical telemedicine device that can capture, store and transmit physiologic signals from a patient using built-in sensors, an electronic medical record (CHITS – Community Health Information Tracking System) and telemedicine. During the conference, live demonstration of these capabilities was done with the Villareal, Samar and Tubigon, Bohol.
Dr. Kristine Mae P. Magtubo, project manager of the RxBox, explained that this device provides smarter patient care by aiding in diagnosis. By bringing clinical specialists at the fingertips of health workers in remote rural areas through telemedicine, the RxBox reduces the cost of health care.
The RxBox is currently deployed to 21 sites all over the Philippines, the latest of which is in Tubigon Bohol, one of the hard-hit areas of the recent earthquake, and also one of the recipients of DOST-ICTO’s TV White Space or Super WiFi technology.
