CHITS celebrates 10 years of eHealth for the people

October 13, 2014 11:42 am | by Henri Joshua Igna, RN | Posted in Events, News

 

This September 2014, an electronic medical record system (EMR) celebrated its 10-years of supporting government health workers in managing health information in the community.

Held at Orchid Garden Suites in Manila, the Community Health Information Tracking System (CHITS), had its 10th anniversary celebration with Department of Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona, Undersecretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco, and other stakeholders. The event shared progress and accomplishments on CHITS and raised awareness on the emerging directions of eHealth especially on EMRs.

A series of plenary and breakout sessions were conducted to explore lessons and recommendations on the implementation of CHITS in the field. A “Gallery of User Stories” was the highlight of the event, featuring anecdotes from health workers using CHITS.

“An ICT-enabled health information system is a complimentary strategy for strengthening health systems and achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” said Usec. Herbosa in a speech delivered for DOH Secretary Ona. He added that this is why the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and DOH launched the Philippine eHealth Strategic Framework and Plan – a roadmap on how ICT will be used for better health care delivery in the country.

The eHealth Strategic Framework will guide the country in implementing information technology to achieve better health.

CHITS is a homegrown innovation of the University of the Philippines Manila National Telehealth Center (UPM-NTHC). It is created with health workers and facilitates getting health data similar to a health center’s workflow. Built to gather data and generate reports, CHITS support how health workers and local chief executives make decisions on the health status of the community.

CHITS was first deployed on May 10, 2004 at Elvira Lagrosa Health Center in Pasay City by Dr. Herman Tolentino and several community doctors. CHITS is being used in 194 health facilities together with other eHealth innovations such as rCHITS and RxBox.

CHITS is a finalist at the Stockholm Challenge, hailed as the Best e-Gov Project by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Digital Opportunities Center in Taipei, Taiwan, and awarded as Best Health Market Innovation Award in the Philippines at the Galing-Likha Kalusugan Awards.