In its bid to contribute to the improvement of health delivery in the Philippines, Globe Business recently launched Globe HealthCloud during the Digital Life Congress at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, formally announcing its entry into the health informatics arena.
The launch was ushered in by a CEO Breakfast Forum tendered by Globe Business, witnessed by luminaries in the local health sector as well as major stakeholders in the local ICT industry. Participants were welcomed by Globe Chief Operating Officer for Business and International Markets and Chief Strategy Officer Gil Genio, who outlined the two-pronged objective of the meet: to expand coverage of healthcare to the vast majority of Filipinos and to make whatever patient care accorded by healthcare providers to citizens as efficient, as quick and as useful for doctors and hospitals through health analytics.
“Many of the advanced IT solutions like analytics, clinical diagnostics systems, and the like are important and necessary as they presuppose the adoption of electronic medical records (EMR) and essentially the digitization of patient records,” Genio pointed out.
The Forum was privileged to have as keynote speaker the Department of Health Undersecretary Teodoro Herbosa, MD, who observed that the initiatives of the day were pointing to a paradigm shift toward the future of healthcare in the Philippines.
“All of us are working to improving information support for better healthcare delivery. Our quick wins will translate into shorter waiting times in emergency departments, efficient hospital services, and improved client-based health services,” explained USec Herbosa.
A panel discussion moderated by Zuellig Pharma Corporation CEO Raymund Azurin ensued, who introduced fellow “innovators” in both the local ICT and the medical fields. Healthcare-IT consultant Dr. Michael Muin outlined the general trend in local healthcare for ICT adoption, which are operational efficiencies particularly in cost management and turn-around time; clinical efficiencies for doctors to be successful at patient care; and engagement for patients to handle their own process in healthcare. American Board of Neurological Surgeons diplomate Dr. Eustaquio Abay II emphasized the importance of installing integrated systems with the use of ICT, particularly the cloud, for wider availability and security, being essential and necessary to raise the level of care for patients and improving their actual experience.