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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Rep Duterte has high-tech advice for new PhilHealth chief

Rep Duterte has high-tech advice for new PhilHealth chief

Published Dec 1, 2022 10:38 am

Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte is prodding the new leadership of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to tap digital innovations in performing its mandate of providing medical insurance as well as affordable and accessible health care services to all Filipinos.

Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte (Facebook)


“We need to reimagine the way we bring quality health care to our countrymen, especially to those living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) where medical professionals are scarce," said Duterte.

The second-term solon made this call even as he earlier filed House Bill (HB) No.4808, or the proposed National eHealth System (NeHS).

The measure seeks to establish a national electronic health (eHealth) system--a digital-based system that is designed to complement and improve the delivery of physical healthcare services.

"The use of digital technology to support the delivery of healthcare can help detect symptoms in patients in the early stages of their ailments and save lives,” Duterte noted.

The use of digital tools to deliver better health outcomes, especially in farflung communities, should be reinforced with the approval and implementation of such system, he said.

Duterte said newly-appointed acting PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Emmanuel Ledesma can begin expanding the application of digital solutions in the health insurer’s operations by allowing the use of more convenient online payment platforms, such as e-wallets, in settling PhilHealth premiums.

Making premium payments easy and convenient will encourage members, especially those who are voluntarily paying, to keep contributing to the PhilHealth fund, Duterte said.

The Mindanaoan also pitched that Ledesma broaden the implementation of PhilHealth’s eKonsulta system, which is a web-based standalone application that can be used to encode patient data and medical records. This can help harmonize the health data of patients and ensure that accurate and substantial medical histories are used in diagnosing them.

The eKonsulta can be incorporated into the proposed NeHS under HB No.4808, which also covers the use of e-prescriptions, e-pharmacies, and telemedicine, Duterte said.

He said the NeHS recognizes the use of digital solutions as supplemental and complementary with other traditional healthcare delivery methods to the extent allowable by law, especially in supporting the primary healthcare needs and services in GIDAs.

He noted that telemedicine or online medical consultations are now widely used in other countries like China and Singapore so that patients can easily book appointments via the Internet without waiting for hours inside doctors’ offices.

The use of telemedicine boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Philippines, when the onsite delivery of health services became limited.

Benguet lone district Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Party-list Reps. Edvic Yap and Jeffrey Soriano co-authored the measure.

Related Tags

Paolo Duterte PhilHealth eHealth 120122 digital inovations Emmanuel Ledesma high-tech
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