Makati City in the Philippines’ National Capital Region is the first city in the country to put up a round-the-clock digital healthcare system.
Based on a news report by the Philippine Information Agency, the city’s health system has fully integrated virtual appointments, telehealth consultations, diagnostics, and EMRs into a single network.
“We didn’t just digitise healthcare; we’ve changed how an entire city experiences medical care,” Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay-Campos was quoted as saying.
The digital health system is underpinned by a health information management system that connects all health facilities and synchronises EMRs, laboratory results, and health data across sources.
Residents can also book hospital or clinic appointments around the clock through the city’s virtual queuing management system.
24/7 telehealth access is provided by KonsultaMD, which the city has partnered with since 2023.
The city’s health system also provides access to AI-powered cancer screening through Makati Life Medical Center, door-to-door medicine delivery, and specialist teleconsultations.
The news report noted that the city government set aside P3.47 billion ($61 million) in its budget for healthcare digital infrastructure and services over the past eight years.
THE LARGER TREND
Outside the capital region, Camiguin, an island province in south Philippines, established a digital health records system called Camiguin Health Information Exchange last year.
This comes a year after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for the immediate digitalisation of essential services in the country, including healthcare. Even state health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp. also moved last year to a new digital system, the ePhilHealth platform, to streamline access to its various services.
The uptake of digital technologies in Philippine public healthcare is guided by various frameworks and plans, including those provided by the 2013 Philippine eHealth Strategic Framework and Plan and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Meanwhile, private hospitals are also pursuing digital transformation. Last year, St. Luke’s Medical Center in the capital region went live with its EMR system provided by Altera Digital Health.
While the digitalisation of health services in the Philippines has accelerated in recent years since the global pandemic, major challenges persist, particularly the lack of internet connectivity and electricity in rural and remote communities, according to Health Department Secretary Teodoro Herbosa. The Philippines has yet to achieve full internet coverage; nearly 80% of households have been connected to the internet. The same is the case with electricity, though the country is inching close to full electrification, with 93% of households already have it.
