Case Study

Case Study

Wireless Access for Health: Using 3G Technology to Improve Health Care in the Philippines and Create Healthier, Happier Communities

Philippines

Health Care

The Philippine Field Health Service Information System (FHSIS) is the government’s major resource for managing public health data. FHSIS data is used for policy analysis and planning at all levels of the public health system. Most FHSIS data originate during patient care at barangay health stations, city health units, rural health units (RHU) and hospitals. It is up to the doctors, nurses and other health care providers at these facilities to treat patients, record their information and assemble clinic-wide reports. An electronic medical record system has the potential to improve access to quality patient records for clinicians and data to the FHSIS.

Challenge

• RHUs provide critical health care services to families and communities throughout the Philippines. Effective delivery of patient care requires good information at all levels of the health care system. • Patient-level information enables health care workers to provide individuals with more effective, efficient and comprehensive care. • Clinic-level information is critical for maintaining the appropriate amount of life-saving drug supplies and identifying human resource needs. Municipal-, provincial- and regional-level information can help identify disease outbreaks and inform decision makers on the most efficient allocation of resources. • RHU-level information is critical for public health-related decision and policy making. • Traditionally this information has been manually recorded on paper — a process that is not only time consuming, but also error prone. Accessing and managing information in this manner is labor intensive and the data can often be outdated or incorrect. • The inability to easily access and trust the accuracy of the patient information also makes it difficult for RHUs to feel a sense of ownership of the data...