Manila, Philippines — The Department of Health’s Center for Health Development – Metro Manila (DOH CHD-MM) and the University of the Philippines Manila – National Telehealth Center (UPM-NThC) forged its partnership with the setting-up of the Community Health Information Tracking System or CHITS to 6 selected health centers in the cities of Pasay, Manila, and Muntinlupa.
The automation of 6 selected health centers utilizing UP Manila’s very own electronic medical record system tailor-fitted for health centers will soon be up in highly-urbanized areas in Metro Manila. The health facilities include San Pablo and MIA in Pasay; Pedro Gil and Rosario Reyes in Manila; and Putatan and Alabang in Muntinlupa.
“We are glad that we will soon be automating our health centers,” elated City Health Officer Dr. Edilinda Patac of Muntinlupa. Putatan and Alabang Health Centers serve an average of 150-200 patients a day. “This will help a lot in our transactions and reports,” said Dr. Marivic Victorio of Putatan Health Center.
The CHITS project went into full swing with the preliminary visits and capability-building program of health workers by familiarizing with the ins and outs of using an electronic medical record system. The CHITS training program which was conducted in batches last August (Pasay), September (Manila), and October (Muntinlupa) was anchored towards harnessing health care delivery through building up the confidence of health workers in using computers and embedding it in their culture as they render quality health care service and report generation for data analysis and decision making.
Participants were asked to appraise their experience on the said activity. “Maganda itong CHITSÂ sa paggawa namin ng reports na mano-mano (CHITS will be useful when we make our reports which is usually done by hand),” expressed nurse Josie Labrador of Pedro Gil Health Center.
“Mahirap sa una pero masasanay din kami kapag nasa health center na namin (Initially, it will be difficult but we will get used to it when it’s implemented in our health center),” said Joan Rivera of Alabang Health Center.
Currently, the CHD-MM and the respective City Health Offices are already procuring the hardware and network installation for the pilot sites. By early quarter of 2011, UPM-NThC will assist in the deployment and technical support when CHITS becomes fully-operational in the selected sites in Manila and Muntinlupa.
Pasay City, which is considered a “CHITS champion city” for having been a pioneer of the electronic medical record system, had two health centers added to their laurels. Now, Pasay has 10 automated health centers which is a step closer towards the first ever citywide automated health centers.
CHITS, an award-winning electronic medical record system committed to comply with present and future standards of the DOH and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), has been deployed in over 40 health facilities around the country.