The Provincial Health Office of Pangasinan awarded the eHATID project for its contributions to Pangasinan’s ehealth system during the 11th Provincial Health Summit: 2020 LGU Health Scorecard Recognition and Outstanding COVID-19 Response Awarding Ceremony last February 24, 2022. 

Developed with support from the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), the eHATID project provides a health information system that enables storage of patient data, assists LGUs in making informed decisions for community healthcare programs, and integrates the patient data into the eClaims benefit of PhilHealth. 

Initially, eHATID’s partnership with Pangasinan was dedicated to providing technical assistance and capacity-building activities for rural healthcare workers.  In line with the passage of the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Law in 2019, the partnership grew to support the province’s compliance with the law through the implementation of the Local Government Unit-mandated eHealth Networked Services for Universal Health Care or the UHC LeHNS project. 

eHATID project leader Dr. Dennis Batangan further shared how they assist in improving Pangasinan’s health information system. “Through this initiative, alongside select Pangasinan Provincial Health Office key personnel, we aim to co-design and co-develop an interoperable system, which will aid the province’s health facilities in providing better healthcare services to their respective constituents.”

An interoperable system will enable health facilities to provide better patient care delivery by improving recording and encoding systems. With the use of this system, patients will also be referred and transferred to appropriate facilities more quickly and efficiently.

The team also worked with Pangasinan for the establishment of an eLearning program, which will provide up-to-date training activities for the continued professional development of healthcare workers on diverse topics, including updates on health policies within the context of UHC.

Overall, Dr. Batangan highlighted how the project aims to support the e-governance and ehealth components of the health system from the local up to the national level. “A more efficient health information system will support better healthcare delivery,” he said. 

Aside from Pangasinan, the eHATID project also has an ongoing engagement with Cagayan de Oro. Discussions are also ongoing between the project team and other provinces for future collaborations.