Philips brings first-rate healthcare to the countryside

Health is wealth, and that is not just another cliche for people who have been afflicted by disease. With the high costs of medicines and medical procedures that are available only in urban areas, the patients and their families quickly realize to their dismay that their life savings may be exhausted by healthcare. And thus, the ORET Easy-Web (E-Web) Healthcare system, recently launched by Philips, is a welcome development. By allowing on-line referral and diagnosis from remote provinces by healthcare experts, the patient’s financial resources are conserved. In many cases, there is no longer any need to transport the patient over long distances for diagnosis and cure.  

ORET stands for Ontewikkelings Relevante Export Transacties (Development Related Export Transactions), a Dutch financing firm that runs a medical assistance program conceived and executed through a partnership between Philips Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH), and the Netherlands government. By paving the way for the delivery of extensive medical equipment to selected public hospitals in the Philippines, the program facilitates quality healthcare services to benefit millions of Filipinos in the countryside. Initially, the ORET E-Web Healthcare System has been installed at the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), the country’s premier hub for cardiovascular disease, with satellite centers in the Bicol Regional Teaching and Training Center, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, Davao Medical Center, and Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro. The next phase of the project will involve hospitals in northern Luzon.

How will this project affect patient care?

Aside from decongesting PHC by facilitating the setting up of mini heart centers in Department of Health regional hospitals, the project will substantially lessen the financial expenses of the patient. Dr. Criselda Abesamis, director of the National Center for Health Facilities Development, says, “The project is to make sure that the quality health services that are centralized in Metro Manila are now decentralized and are available in the rest of the Philippines.”

Dr. Abesamis explains that since ORET E-Web is also applicable in medical sub-specialties such as oncology, neonatology, women’s health and other fields, the system will eventually make expert end-referral services available for most medical conditions. Furthermore, Dr. Abesamis identifies the project as a “strategic solution to solve the outward migration of our specialists.”

How does the system work?

The Easy Web is inspired by Philips’ brand promise of “Sense and Simplicity”and is aptly named because it is easy to use. It connects four satellite hospitals to the Philippine Heart Center using broadband Internet technology to make online collaboration and tele-conferencing between doctors possible. Since clinical images, along with voice and real-time images of the doctor and patients can be transmitted quickly, diagnosis and a plan of action for therapy can be agreed upon faster. The system also has research and education applications for physicians. It allows patient studies to be shared across the hospitals and contribute to the pool of medical knowledge. Undoubtedly, the ORET web-enabled healthcare system will have a positive and significant impact on preventive and curative healthcare as an on-line referral structure.

Vice president and general manager of Philips Medical Systems for Asia and the Pacific Wayne Spittle reveals that the innovative technology is the first of its kind in the region from a company that’s committed to improving access to healthcare in Asia Pacific. Says Spittle, “We want to remove barriers and provide the best possible healthcare. In developing countries like the Philippines, we need to be with that development and take it forward to the future. Good healthcare solutions will improve patient care. At the same time, they will keep healthcare costs under control. I don’t believe that there is a trade-off between quality and cost. Technology will provide better healthcare in the future and will actually provide tremendous financial gains going forward. Technology can have sustainable solutions that can bridge the divide between the privileged and lesser privileged sectors of society.”

Indeed, Wayne Spittle confirms that Philips has come a long way from the pioneer healthcare innovator that developed the first x-ray tube in 1919. “We are more than what we were in the traditional business. We’ve taken it further and emerged into a global healthcare lifestyle technology and the revolution continues. Our vision is to be able to improve people’s quality of life through our products and technologies,” he asserts.