Posted on 06:13 PM, August 15, 2013

Medicine Cabinet -- Reiner Gloor

mHealth
THE PHILIPPINES, said to be the texting capital of the world, accounted for about 10% of global SMS exchanges among the countrys 92 million mobile subscribers. A report on telecommunication in Southeast Asia published by the PwC in 2012 said that mobile subscription in the country would reach 117 million by 2016. The high mobile penetration rate is being complemented by the rise in smartphone sales as well as the growing demand for broadband subscription among Filipinos. Globally, mobile subscription has reached 90% of the worlds population with a projected 6.8 billion mobile subscriptions for a population of 7.1 billion by the end of 2013. By the year 2020, this technology would have a staggering 9.7 billion subscribers. Apart from keeping people connected, mobile phones are now being utilized to expand their use for mobile health or mHealth. At the moment, mobile phones and other technological innovations are making great positive impact on disease prevention, diagnosis and control. Building on the global reach and penetration of mobile phones, applications and services have been developed to help in health information, introduce behavioral changes, empower patients and offer strategies to better manage health conditions, train and support health care professionals, strengthen health systems and facilities, and provide access to services for people who are unable to engage officially with the health system. The use of mHealth is an important part of health information, one of the six building blocks of a strong health system. Health information primarily focuses on the production, analysis, dissemination and use of reliable and timely information on health determinants, health systems performance and health status. Recognizing the impact of mHealth, no less than the World Health Organization formed a consortium with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the global research pharmaceutical sector on the Be He@lthy, Be Mobile campaign. The innovative campaign uses mHealth to target non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. Under the partnership, mobile solutions will be primarily SMS or applications-based and will include a range of services such as mAwareness, mTraining, mBehavioural change, mSurveillance, mTreatment, mDisease management and mScreening. In documenting current mHealth initiatives, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) published Health at your fingertips to demonstrate public sector involvement in achieving priority health goals. The publication compiled around 37 mHealth efforts being undertaken not only to prevent and reduce NCDs, but also help in attaining health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat HIV/AIDS and malaria among others. At the moment, IFPMA said that the use of mHealth offers assistance to patients to help them prevent or manage diseases. In the area of prevention, mHealth is being utilized to assist persons to make better lifestyle choices by avoiding risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol. Mobile services have also been available to provide support in the diagnosis and documentation of cancer cases. In disease management, other mHealth applications allow patients to register symptoms and send a report to his or her doctor to discuss solutions. There are also efforts to help improve adherence to treatment through special medication and health care appointment reminders. For children, parents receive SMS informing them about vaccines against common childhood diseases and the timing of visit with their health workers. MHealth is also being used in the fight against counterfeit medicines with the provision of a free SMS number that tells people the difference between a genuine and a fake medicine. Here at home, the University of the Philippines and the Wireless Access Health (WAH) earlier introduced the CHITS Electronic Medical Record which is capable of generating reports on general patient consultations, consultation scheduling,

maternal care services, child care, family planning, morbidity and notifiable diseases, tuberculosis, leprosy, and dental health care. With the province of Tarlac as pilot area, relevant patient information is sent to the Department of Health-Field Health Service Information System (FHSIS) using wireless technology. The FHSIS database is important to support decision making for health, and for monitoring and evaluation of health programs and the health status of each community. Evidence-based research and policies could also only be generated with the use reliable and timely health information. Instead of reinventing the wheel, local governments could consider the Tarlac mHealth model to improve the monitoring of health status in communities. In the coming years, mHealth is expected to play a major role in improving service delivery wherever the people may be. The initiative that takes advantage of innovation is certain to have a great impact on the overall health system and the health of individuals particularly in settings where physical distance is a challenge like in many remote communities in the country.

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