Emerging eHealth Directions in the Philippines

Abstract

SummaryObjectives: This paper aims to provide an overview of research and education initiatives in the Philippines. Moreover, it outlines the various agencies and organizations that spearhead the eHealth projects. Methods: The researchers utilized internet-based review of literature, key informant interviews and proceedings from two eHealth conferences among Filipino researchers in 2011 organized by the authors. Results: eHealth capacities in the areas of research, education and service have progressed dramatically in the last four decades as a result of improved access to information and communication technology. The National Unified Health Research Agenda initiatives have been led largely by higher educational institutions and organizations specializing in eHealth. Educational reforms have been seen with the establishment of the Masters of Science in Health Informatics, infusion of Nursing Informatics into the nursing undergraduate curriculum and offering of short courses on eHealth. Service-oriented organizations and innovations have also been formulated to meet the needs of the practitioners as information and communication technologies are embedded into the healthcare delivery system. Conclusions: Experts, researchers, practitioners and enthusiasts have successfully promoted awareness and uplifted the standards in the practice of eHealth in research, education and service. However, three main areas of improvement need to be given priority: (1) Policy and standards creation, (2) capability building and (3) multi-sectoral collaborations.

Challenges to the Emergence of Telerehabilitation in a Developing Country: A Systematic Review

“…In line with the Philippine e-Health Systems and Services Act, feasibility and cost-effectiveness studies should be done prior to implementation of telehealth-related programs in healthcare facilities (53). In addition, awareness campaigns, workforce training, capacity-building, and policy-updating are also important measures to ensure sustainable programs (23,32). In relation to local telerehabilitation experience, however, these crucial steps were bypassed during the COVID-19 pandemic to urgently come up with interim guidelines.…”

“…Several studies have evaluated or attempted to address the lack of awareness and acceptance of telemedicine among stakeholders. Research fora, stakeholders' meetings, campaigns, and conferences conducted by Fernandez-Marcelo et al in 2012 stimulated awareness of telehealth in a wider scale locally (32). The National Telehealth Service Program of the Department of Health was an important milestone in spreading telehealth awareness in rural areas, as shown by Macrohon and Cristobal (30,33) and Gavino et al (37).…”

“…The concerns raised, however, were mostly related to internet speed and data privacy issues. The rest of the studies were related to telerehabilitation acceptance (Laron et al, unpublished; Mendoza et al, unpublished), telehealth-related governance (22,32,34,35,38), national programs or policies (23,24,27), legal issues (24), data privacy and security concerns (24,31,39) and ethical dilemmas (24,25). Majority of the authors of these papers were affiliated with the National Telehealth Center of the National Institutes of Health at the University of the Philippines Manila.…”

“…It was found that no Philippine law specific to telehealth has been approved yet according to Patdu and Tenorio (24). Nonetheless, there were initial efforts to lobby for telehealth by addressing funding, legal, ethical, and administrative challenges (23,24,32,40).…”

A current status of teleophthalmology in low- and middle-income countries: literature review

“…Only one study was identified suggesting low demand for teleophthalmology. 8 Types of diseases applied in the teleophthalmology studies are as shown in Table 1. Most studies focus on diabetic retinopathy (DR) of which application pattern is quite consistent with the conventional clinical method.…”