Makati City Mayor Abby Binay on Friday, October 18, led the unveiling of the Galing Pook Awards marker commemorating the city’s recognition for its Virtual Queuing Management System (VQMS) during the 2023 Galing Pook Awards.
Binay was joined by Galing Pook Awards Chairperson Mel Senen Sarmiento, Georgina Ann Hernandez Yang, Adrian Adove, Kim Karol Di, Adonis Caballero, and other city government executives in the event.
The VQMS, which is headed by the Makati Health Department (MHD), earned a spot among the Top 10 awardees of the 2023 awards. This system transformed healthcare service delivery by eliminating long queues and congestion in barangay health centers.
"Mula sa 166 entries sa buong bansa ay pumili ang Galing Pook panel of judges ng 17 finalists. Sampu lamang ang binigyan ng parangal para sa mga inobasyon at programang nakakapagbago ng pamumuhay ng mga komunidad. Personal kong ipinresent ang VQMS sa Galing Pook panel noong final screening. At habang ipinapaliwanag ko ang advantages at magagandang nagawa ng virtual scheduling system na ito, ay nakita ko sa audience ang interes na ma-i-implement din ang ganitong sistema sa kanilang mga lungsod (From the 166 entries nationwide, the Galing Pook panel of judges chose 17 finalists for the award where only 10 were given recognition for their innovations and programs that helped change the way of life of its communities. I personally presented the VQMS to the Galing Pook panel during its final screening. In the middle of my presentation of its advantages, I saw the audience's interest to implement the same system in their cities)," the mayor explained.
Binay noted that the VQMS stopped the decade-old problem of long lines in its health centers to receive medical attention.
"Nang dahil sa VQMS naging simple, mabilis, at mas epektibo ang pagpapatakbo ng appointment system sa ating mga health center. Bukod dito, naging digitized na ang data-gathering ng patient records kaya pwede nang magpa-check up ang Makatizens kahit sa ibang health center sa lungsod. Ang mga datos na aming nakakalap ay nakakatulong para palakasin ang ating adbokasiyang “preventive healthcare” para sa ating mga residente. Dahil nakikita natin kung ano ang madalas nilang ikonsulta, at ano ang mga gamot na madalas i-reseta, nalalaman natin ngayon na dumadami pala ang Makatizens na may hypertension o diabetes at mga batang nagsisimula nang maging overweight (VQMS made the appointment system of our health centers much simpler, faster, and more efficient. Aside from this, the data-gathering of patient records became digitized allowing Makatizens to have their check-ups in any health center in the city. The data we are gathering helps our advocacy of "preventive healthcare" of our residents. Since we can now see immediately what they frequently consult as well as the medicines they regularly take, we have detected that the number of Makatizens suffering from hypertension and diabetes are increasing as well as the number of children that are starting to be overweight)," the mayor stressed.
Binay noted that the VQMS is a prime example of the city government's vision of making Makati a smart and digital city. This technology may also be applied in every aspect of providing public service to its community.
She added the city is prepared to share its VQMS technology with other cities to help them boost their healthcare services to their constituents.