The Mobile Revolution

Technology is an amazing thing. Back in the 90’s, I remember that my dad had a cell phone which was the size of a brick. He would only keep it in the car, because it was too bulky to carry around. In the early 2000’s, I got my first cell phone, which was a 3rd-hand Nokia 3210. It had a green and black screen (like an original Gameboy). The only game I had on it was Snake. When I got into college, I got an iPod touch, which was my first introduction to mobile apps. I thought back then, “why would you need that? I have my computer for applications, my iPod is for music, not games, and all this other stuff.” It’s been about 7 years since then and boy was I wrong.

Hello, Hello?

Communication, the exchange of information is a powerful tool. As I have previously discussed in other entries, sharing of health information between different health institutions can help improve the speed and quality of healthcare in the country. Telehealth is a general term for using telecommunications technology in delivering health-related services. The concept is not that new. Using this definition, any phone call or text message from one health worker, asking for the opinion of another in health care management can be considered telehealth. However, there are electronic health systems that have been created that rely on telecommunications. The National Telehealth Center, based in U.P. Manila already has telehealth systems being put into use under their belt. Both CHITS and RxBox, which I have previously mentioned, are examples of telehealth systems that the NTC developed.

This is The Law

With the last post being about the policies and practices of hospitals in the country on data privacy and security, this one is on what the law says about it. Republic Act 10173, also known as The Data Privacy Act, is a law created to deal with the privacy of personal information in electronic systems, including health data. For this week, our class in HI 201 had a debate based on the question: Is the Data Privacy act adequate to protect confidential health information?

For Your Eyes Only

The health worker and the individual have a relationship built around trust. The patient provides information that can be very sensitive about themselves for the health worker to make decisions on their management. In turn, the health worker has the duty to keep this information confidential.

You Decide!

As a healthcare worker, you have to make a lot of important decisions. After all, these decisions affect the health of many individuals. Before, healthcare providers used what they learned from their apprenticeship and experience to make healthcare decisions. This evolved into the creation of clinical practice guidelines, documents that give guiding decisions and criteria for diagnosis and management in specific topics of health. At the present age of evidence-based medicine, modern guidelines use multiple clinical studies as basis for clinical guidelines. 

Interop Co-op

Interoperability - according to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), it is “the ability of different information technology systems and software applications to communicate, exchange data, and use the information that has been exchanged.” Practically, it is the “ability of health information systems to work together within and across organizational boundaries in order to advance the effective delivery of healthcare for individuals and communities.”

It’s Personal

When we go to a health center or hospital, the health care personnel have to ask us a lot of information. What’s your name? How old are you? What’s the reason you consulted today? Do you have any other illnesses? Are you taking any medicine? Do you smoke? Does any members of your family have a similar illness? All these things are important for them to determine if you’re well or not, and if you are sick, what that sickness could possibly be and how they can help to diagnose or treat it.

The Challenge of EHR

For this week, the topic is on the issues and challenges of implementing electronic health records in the primary health care setting. Here is a link to the slide presentation for this assignment.

EHR in Health Care: Issues and Challenges

TOGAF or not TOGAF?

When we think of the word architecture, the first thing that comes into mind are buildings. The common meaning of the word is the process of planning, designing, and constructing physical structures. This all reflects the technical, social, environmental and the aesthetic background of the architect and the client.

Starting Up The Health Information Exchange

Language - it is essential for one person to understand another. It allows us to grasp concepts through a system of signs, sounds, and characters. There are many different languages in the world, one of which is our native language, Filipino. In our own country, along with Filipino, there are other languages being used such as Ilocano, Kapampangan, Bisaya, and Maguindanaon. There was difficulty in Filipino’s acceptance as the “national language” because it is based on one language used in Southern Luzon: Tagalog. It was chosen because it is the common used language in the political capital, which is located in this area. The government had to initiate the use of Filipino nationwide, using it as a medium of instruction in schools.

Business vs Government or Something Else?

I know that people will think that this entry is going off tangent, but this, being my blog, is about my thoughts and feelings as an individual. I think it goes hand in hand with my previous entry on meeting design (the ideal) and real to achieve sustainability.

As a person what do you value? Family, friendship, fame, power, justice, security, honesty? Why in the world would I ask that? Well, the question for this week is affected by this. Is it possible for free market forces to implement national information infrastructure to support health and healthcare without the intervention of the government in the Philippines? The short answer for me is no, and even with government regulation, will it really help?

Sustainability - Success or Failure of Health Informatics

Planning - for every project it is crucial to have an idea of where you’re going and what you want to happened. For health information systems this is a make-or-break deal. Innovation being developed will change the system. It has to be accepted and integrated for it to stay - to be sustainable. So how do we do that?

Advancing Health Informatics in the Philippines

In a funny coincidence, I was having problems accessing the internet the whole week doing this. I'm not sure if it was the rainy weather or just our service provider being consistently inconsistent - which is somewhat related to this topic.

How can we advance health informatics in the Philippines? This is the guiding question for this week. To understand what needs to be done, we have to know what has been done. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to go on. Sources are scarce, and many of them are outdated.

Why is Health Informatics Important?

We live in an age where information is very important. With the creation and development of the computer and the internet, information has become easily available. With this in mind, how can this technology be used in the health sector? What is the relevance of health informatics in the realms of eHealth and global health?

To do this, we have to understand what each of these concepts mean, and how they relate to one another.

Press START

Hello world!

This is my blog. While this is made as a requirement for my Health Informatics 201 class; I also want to add posts on my other interests, like video games, toy collecting, and other things.

And so, here I go!