NURSING INFORMATICS IN THE PHILIPPINES

The word “Nursing Informatics” was made familiar to the Philippine community by the year 2008.

NURSING INFORMATICS IN THE PHILIPPINES BRIEF HISTORY

1996 - Philippine Medical Informatics Society (PMIS) was established which made a very strong influence
in the development of health informatics in the Philippines.

1998 - Faculty members of the University of the Philippines began formal education and training in
medical informatics and information science.

1999 - Standards of Health Information of the Philippines 1999 (SHIP99) was established. It was headed
by National Institute of Health of the UP Manila with the collaboration of Philippine Nurses Association

2005-2006-Health Informatics was offered by UP- Manila College of Medicine (major in medical
informatics) and College of Arts and Sciences (major in bioinformatics)

2008 - Commission on Higher Education Memorandum 5 Series of 2008 defined Nursing Informatics
course in the undergraduate curriculum.

2009 - This was later revised and included as Health Informatics course in CHED Memorandum Order 14
Series of 2009. First Implementation of the integration of Nursing Informatics in the undergraduate
curriculum was on the summer of 2010.

ISSUES AND PROBLEMS

• Lack of devices, machines, resources, and methods of utilizing information, computers, and
nursing science in nursing.

• It is costly to train nurses on the use of the program for electronic documentation.

• Nurse informatics are also scarce in the Philippines.

• Some nurses in the Philippines are computer illiterate.

• Another challenge is, there are two generations of people. The young ones are people that think
differently and the old ones are that are being pushed by the young ones out of their practice.

• The inclusion of informatics as an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum has been one of
the most influential factors for the increased awareness and interest in this field of nursing. However,
the contents of the curriculum were adapted from international materials which does not match the
local needs.

• Lack of certification and credentialing programs in post-graduate levels are also absent with the
scarcity of local nursing informatics experts. This new field has yet to gain acceptance and recognition in
the nursing community as a sub-specialty.

RESOLUTION
As information technology and computing slowly advance HEALTH CARE practices nowadays, there is
seemingly a need to improve the preparation of our nursing students academically and clinically as they
engage themselves with a new concept of Nursing Informatics. Nursing schools across the country has
been implementing the course Informatics. However, there is a need to standardize the contents of the
course being implemented by nursing schools. Theoretical concepts and practical applications should be
aligned so that it may be applicable to the Philippine setting.

1. Need to improve the preparation of nursing students academically and clinically

2. Course should be implemented in nursing schools

3. Need to standardize the contents

4. Theoretical concepts and practical applications should be aligned in the Philippine setting

SYSTEMS PRACTICED IN THE PHILIPPINES HOMIS (Hospital Operation Management and Information
System) Hospitals with HOMIS:

• Baguio General Hospital Medical Center

• Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (Manila)

• Las Pinas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center

• National Center for Mental Health

• Quirino Memorial Medical Center

• San Lazaro Hospital (Manila)

• Tondo Medical Center (Manila)

• Valenzuela Medical Center