As part of its 41st-anniversary celebration, the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) presented initiatives on digital health solutions that leverage partnerships with the public sector and communities.
RabCast, Remote Retinal Evaluation Collaboration in Health: Diabetic Retinopathy (REACH-DR), and Local Government Unit-mandated eHealth Networked Services for Universal Health Care (UHC LehNS) were highlighted by DOST-PCHRD. The effects of each digital technology on healthcare in Filipino communities were discussed.
RabCast is a forecasting instrument created by the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UP Mindanao) to aid in the formulation of rabies control strategies in Davao City. RabDash is a dashboard that displays genome informatics, model predictions, and data analytics that the Davao City Veterinary Office (CVO) and other authorities can access.
According to Dr. May Anne E. Mata, the leader of the RabCast initiative, the technology aided in the effective monitoring of the spread of rabies in the city.
The CVO requires dependable surveillance data and a decision-making instrument, particularly for strategic planning. By digitising rabies surveillance, the technology addresses the possibility of errors in manual data collection, lack of manpower, voids in correlating rabies cases with intervention efforts, and lack of information on the citywide spread of rabies.
To establish an inclusive telemedicine screening programme for diabetic retinopathy (DR), the REACH-DR project of the Philippine Eye Research Institute (PERI), in collaboration with the Queen’s University of Belfast of the United Kingdom (UK), implemented a validated artificial intelligence (AI) screening algorithm for DR. The technology aims to expand access to DR screening to enhance eye care for diabetic patients.
According to project supervisor Dr Paolo Antonio Silva, optimal medical management of diabetes in conjunction with proper eye care can reduce the risk of vision loss by over 96%. In addition, he emphasised the significance of community-based eye care programmes that are accessible and inclusive. Routine and lifelong eye examinations are essential to attaining these outcomes, he said.
The initiative determined that the REACH DR team’s algorithm accurately identifies the presence of DR, allowing for prompt eye care referral and positive patient outcomes.
The Ateneo de Manila University-Institute of Philippine Culture launched the Smarter and Integrated Local Health Information Systems (SMILHIS) because of the eHealth TABLET for Informed Decision-Making of Local Government Units (eHATID LGU) project, which developed an electronic medical record system for Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs).
The SMILHIS is an LGU-managed interoperability layer that aims to improve the information administration of local health systems and enable local chief executives to make informed decisions. eHATID has partnered with the local government units of Pulilan, Bulacan; Cagayan De Oro City; and Pangasinan Province.
Philip Christian Zuniga, a member of the eHATID initiative, stated that their objective is to integrate all of these [digital technologies] and provide an architecture that enables the LGUs to maximise the use of all the technologies they already possess.
To further assist LGUs with the incorporation of digital health solutions, the team expanded eHATID and redesigned eHatid to comply with the UHC implementation. Consequently, the UHC LeHNS or Local Government Unit-mandated eHealth Networked Services for Universal Health Care were created. The initiative initiated significant reforms, including the establishment of provincial and city-level health information systems that facilitate the exchange of information between the province’s health institutions.
