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.
Meanwhile, ACCESS Health International Philippines country director Dr. Elmer Soriano batted for an “energized local health system,” buoyed by the local health informatics management industry’s two-fold growth. As for health maintenance organizations, Medicard President and CEO Nicky Montoya, MD called for peers to invest in business intelligence, as they can now harvest available information, ready to be analyzed as big data not only to manage health but at the onset, to prevent or minimize their clients from acquiring diseases.
The panel discussion laid the foundation for the formal launch of the Globe HealthCloud with a special luncheon for select members of the broadcast, print and digital media. Genio and Dr. Montoya were joined by Malu Florendo, CEO of LifeData, the technology partner for Globe HealthCloud. She averred that the newly-launched EMR solution by Globe will address fragmentation of information gathering from various stakeholders involved in the entire healthcare ecosystem.
For the part of HMOs, Dr. Montoya highlighted the convenience of electronic medical records such as Globe HealthCloud, not only to provide convenience to patients and medical institutions as a system that accurately records data, but to also serve as a repository of information to generate clinical studies which will be used to update local health statistics.
Through an audio-visual presentation, the media were provided with an overview of the key features and benefits of Globe HealthCloud with its three major components: HealthCloud HMO, which streamlines health maintenance organization processes, from online appointment scheduling to claims handling; HealthCloud MD, which enables physicians to manage and organize patient records for efficient and accurate consultations; and HealthCloud Patient, which organizes personal health records to enable immediate proper treatment and a more personalized level of care.
In closing, Genio underscored the Globe HealthCloud as a “best of breed solution,” a confluence of cloud infrastructure and software leveraging on the reach of the network to positively affect a greater number of Filipinos towards a wider adoption of a Globe-powered and revolutionary electronic medical system.
Doctors and members of the medical and allied professions, HMOs, medical institutions and patients can learn more about Globe HealthCloud at healthcloud.globe.com.ph.
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
