QC vice mayor eyes virtual check-up
Credit to Author: JAIME PILAPIL, TMT| Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2018 18:33:36 +0000
The Quezon City government plans to address the lack of doctors in its barangay (villages) by introducing the “virtual check-up” program.
“There is this technology wherein a doctor is assigned to three to four health centers but he is not physically present in those health centers. He just needs a big television screen, and there are nurses who will get the data about the patient, such as vital signs, and it is the doctor who will give instructions on what the patient needs to do or to take,” Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said in her speech before the District Health Management Council on Thursday.
“It’s time for a change. It’s time to think out of the box,” she said, adding that virtual check-up was being practiced in several cities and in other countries
Belmonte lamented the lack of official data on the health status of residents which makes the city ill-equipped in providing programs for the people’s needs.
“I want the city to gather official data because as of the moment, we all know that there is none. And when it comes to health data — how many people are in need, how many people die every day, what are the usual causes of death, and statistics when it comes to mortality, morbidity, pregnancy rate — we will not know what programs we are supposed to give to our people without that data,” she said.
Data gathering, she said, would start in the first six months of 2019. Her office allocated P20 million for the project.
Belmonte said she plans to launch Barangay Health Management Councils in every village, noting that health if the primary concern of residents.
“This institution, the Barangay Health Management Council, could address all the health concerns of our people,” she added.
“All of the city’s health concerns can get proper attention with proper planning, thinking out of the box, innovating ideas, and consulting the best practices of our local government units and our health management councils,” Belmonte said.
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