Foreign chambers are
now working with hospitals in the Philippines to institutionalize a
system that would allow all patients in the country to get hold of their
medical records anywhere at any given time.
The
Retirement & Healthcare Coalition (RHC), composed of the American,
European, Japanese and South Korean chambers in the country, said the
project is part of initiatives to make the Philippines a preferred haven
for foreign retirees.
RHC has involved the
Lifeline Medical Systems in developing an Electronic Medical Records
(EMR) scheme so that updated records of patients can be readily made
available by local hospitals.
“We
are looking at the middle of next year to complete the initial phase of
the project. It will be the first of its kind in the Philippines and
it will allow patients to access their medical records on a real-time
basis,” RHC Executive Director Marc Daubenbuechel said on Wednesday.
Among
the hospitals that indicated interest to participate in the project are
Southern Luzon Hospital and Medical Center, St. Luke’s Medical
Center-Global City, Lorma Medical Center, Home Health Care, Southern
Philippines Medical Center, Clinica Manila/Ambulatory Healthcare
Institute Inc., Ardi Health Services-Ardi Specialty Clinics Inc., Dr.
Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital, Cardinal Santos Medical Center,
Healthway Medical, Unihealth-Tagaytay Hospital and Medical Center,
Unihealth-Baypointe Hospital and Medical Center and The Medical City.
According
to Daubenbuechel, The Medical City provides patients with a card that
stores all their medical records, but the patients can only use the
information contained for their health visits to the hospital.
“At present,
in most of the hospitals, the medical records are owned by the
hospital, not by the patients. It is something that we want to change,”
he said.
Daubenbuechel
added that they are creating a system that is transferable and readily
available in any hospital across the country.
“It
is within the patient’s rights to seek the best medical treatment
possible from hospitals and doctors they are most comfortable
with. Having their EMRs available anywhere will make that process
possible,” Daubenbuechel said.
But
getting most of the hospitals in the country into a single network, he
allowed, is still dependent on several factors, including current
systems being used by the hospitals, insurance coverage and the project
cost.
RHC is
holding a seminar today, dubbed “Patient Centered Healthcare: A
Promising Approach for the Philippine Healthcare Industry,” to further
discuss the importance of proper care of patients in the country.
Expected to attend are hospital administrators, clinic and laboratory
heads, medical practitioners and officials of the Department of Health.
The
RHC conducted six seminars on various health topics in June. It has
been a partner of the government in the promotion of the country as a
primary destination for the world’s aging population.
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