New innovation case on THINK!: WAH Project

QualcommWAH The Wireless Access for Health (WAH) project initiated by the Philippine Department of Health and Qualcomm for the city of Tarlac, is being expanded for use in the entire province.
Since the project’s implementation in July 2009, WAH partners have established the Community Health Information Tracking System (CHITS), an electronic medical records system developed by the University of the Philippines, as the city’s electronic medical record (EMR) platform.
The WAH project streamlines the reporting process and improves access to accurate and timely patient information for clinicians and decision makers by utilizing 3G wireless technologies.
As of April 2012, more than 109,000 patient consultations have been captured by the system, resulting in improved patient and increased number of patient visits as a result of efficiencies that have reduced the four to five minutes needed to search paper records to just seconds.
“The WAH initiative is a means to deliver quality health services to clients, aid health workers and local and national governments by promoting data-driven planning and sound decision-making,” said Dr. Ricardo P. Ramos of the Tarlac Provincial Health Office. “Timely transmission of complete and reliable health data to local and national health agencies and government leaders facilitates policy analysis and allows faster program implementation, assisting local leaders and health workers in identifying and preventing disease outbreaks through preventive care, strategic health promotions and advocacy campaigns.”
The expansion of the WAH project includes province-wide pilot testing of the Mobile Midwife and SPASMS (Synchronized Patient Alert via SMS) applications, which enables data to be captured electronically during patient visits via smartphones, tablets or laptops and instantly sends patient data to the CHITS system.