A Building Block Approach to Implement a Telehealth Clinic and Improve Primary Care Access in the Philippines: A Large-Scale Pilot Project

• Main Authors: Pickering, Annalicia, Rafaqat, Wardah, Balk, Adi, Chen, Milton, Abrogena, Limuel, He, Shuhan, Showstark, Mary, Davis, Alexander, Chen, Aidan, Lee, Jarone
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
• Subjects: digital; equitable access; low-and middle-income countries; Philippines; primary care; telecare; telehealth; telehealth clinic; Health Information Technology; Medicine and Health Sciences; Telemedicine
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/asmph-pubs/149; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/asmph-pubs/article/1153/viewcontent/THMT_A_456_O.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

A limited number of healthcare workers and cost constraints encumber primary care access in the Philippines. To test telehealth as a low-cost and effective solution, a large-scale digital health clinic was implemented in the selected urban and rural communities. In collaboration with local authorities, our pilot telemedicine clinic was implemented for 3 days in January 2023. Patients were registered, and their vitals were assessed before they were seen by a remote US-based licensed physician who provided treatment rec-ommendations. Medical devices with real-time streaming capabilities, such as electronic stethoscopes, were utilized to enhance remote examinations. A total of 322 patients were treated at the telehealth clinic; of which, 218 completed a population health survey. A large proportion of patients had a doctor visit more than 12 months prior (39.2%) and had not received a dental examination (86.3%) or an eye examination within the past year (84.4%). Most patients had access to a smartphone (69.7%). A lower proportion had access to an internet connection sufficient for video calls (57.9%) or a laptop (8.5%). Our clinic demon-strated that telehealth is a feasible solution to improve primary care access for disadvantaged communities in the Philippines.