MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DoH) and Smart Communications Inc. recently entered into a partnership that would enhance the delivery of healthcare services in Iloilo City through the computerization of medical records in the rural health units, provincial hospitals and health centers.

The Secured Health Information Network and Exchange (SHINE) program is an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Inter-facility health referral system that would allow health systems to connect with each other through electronic means, practically making medical consultation and referrals easy even in remote areas. The medical records are accessible to doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals in the communities.

Smart chose the province of Iloilo for the program’s pilot phase covering 1,721 barangays with 23 health facilities, including health centers and eight hospitals.

For Iloilo City, SHINE covers 10 health centers and two government hospitals.

Each of the covered health facility is given two GPRS or 3G-enabled cellular phones that can run Java applications in computers connected to the Internet for the registration of patients, record consultations and other services or commodities provided to them.