USING ICT IN THE PHILIPPINES, HEALTH TREATMENTS ARE BROUGHT TO PATIENTS MORE QUICKLY AND EASILY
By: Dymae T. Celiz (Team PyutSURE RN's)
The Constitution of 1987 recognizes the role of ICT in nation-building. The Arroyo administration’s Medium Term Philippines Development Plan identifies ICT as a driver of job creation and investment (MTPDP). The DOST recently stated that the country will continue to adopt ICT for health care. One of the stated research goals is ICT for health. Their main purpose is to use ICT to bring health solutions closer to people.
As stated by the DOST Secretary, “one of our goals in using ICT is to bring health solutions closer to patients.” A paediatric oncology registry for health institution administrators and a telemedicine platform for remote health units. In addition to bringing health solutions closer to patients, the program will build a website for paediatric cancer sufferers, a paediatric oncology registry for health institution directors, a telemedicine platform for rural health units (RHUs), municipal health centers, and community health centers.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary indicated that the DOST has supported this attempt. A total of 134 physicians and 794 nurses have completed LMS certification courses in Paediatric Palliative Care and End-of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC). These workshops educate healthcare professionals on palliative treatment for children with cancer.
The DOST chief remarked that the FASSSTER program had been improved by the DOST- funded project team (app). According to a DOST article, FASSSTER uses a web based disease modeling and monitoring platform to estimate the future course of COVID-19 infections.
The Department of Health has certified the technology as the official Covid-19 monitoring tool. National and local governments continue to monitor Covid-19 using the team’s models and data, he said.
The DOST Undersecretary said these two research programs are still crucial in addressing new healthcare issues. She added that Covid-19 has a bigger impact on ICT in healthcare. “We strongly encouraged new ICT technology development.” “We believe these projects proved how our support for ICT in health research and R&D in general helps address persistent health concerns,” she said.
For all Filipinos, the Department of Science and Technology is committed to pushing for high-impact research and development.
