DOST-8 Gives Ehatid Tablets To LGUs

Thirteen units of eHATID TABLET, a health information support tablet, were recently turned over by the Department of Science and Technology-Region 8 (DOST-8) to 13 local government units (LGUs) in the Eastern Visayas region.

The eHATID (eHealth Tablet for Informed Decision-making) TABLET (Technology Assisted Boards for LGU Efficiency and Transparency) aims to help local government officials to make informed decisions concerning health in their localities.

Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), an attached agency of DOST, in partnership with Ateneo de Manila University, funded the eHATID LGU project.

This project targets to support LGUs through the use of an electronic medical record mobile application which generates reports for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Department of Health (DOH).

According to DOST, an eHATID tablet ensures a more efficient patient record system that will save time and effort for both health workers and patients.

Dr. Dennis Batangan of Ateneo de Manila University, project director, said eHATID LGU features a dashboard for real-time visualization using charts and graphs of the grouped patient information in the locality for the decision making of LGUs.

He added that it also features a mayor-doctor communication system as a channel for decision-making and sharing of health information.

In the case of unavailable or intermittent internet connection, Batangan said a health worker may still use the tablet offline to input patient records and then synch the encoded information later to a government cloud facility.

Meanwhile, the DOST cited that the project also aims to improve efficiency and transparency among stakeholders using an enhanced health information system (HIS) model that promotes health information convergence and informed decision-making.

Furthermore, it is compliant with the information technology requirements of the PhilHealth Outpatient Benefit Package Plus (OPB+) or TSeKAP (Tamang Serbisyo para sa Kalusugan ng Pamilyang Pilipino).

The agency said the 13 LGUs — Hilongos, Alang-alang, Tolosa, Mahaplag, Dulag, and Jaro of Leyte province; Bobon and Mondragon of the province of Northern Samar; and Almeria, Biliran, Caibiran, Culaba and Naval of Biliran province — earlier showed interest to avail of the eHEALTH TABLET when it was launched in Ormoc City, Leyte during the Visayas Cluster Science and Technology Fair (VCSTF) and Science Nation Tour (SNT) last September.

When the units were turned over recently, a review of the project and discussion of memorandum of understanding (MOU) were also conducted. The LGUs were also trained on how to use the eHATID TABLETS. (PNA) SCS/MCCA