“We do not give antibiotics, narcotics or issue medical certificates. Our doctors are only there to give medical advice and guidance,” she said.
The service would also use the reference protocol based on the Cleveland Clinic telehealth standard in the US. This means that doctors will give almost the same assessment or advice as long as the caller provides them with the same symptoms, manifestation, and other information.
“The whole goal of this system is access to healthcare because we believe that healthcare is a right. We also do triaging, so we know when to refer to the nearest emergency room or to a primary or secondary healthcare center. We emphasize, however, that nothing can replace a face-to-face consultation with doctors,” she explained further.
Genio said that the initiative follows the way telecommunications companies worldwide are transforming healthcare.
“Through information and communications technology (ICT), telecom companies are able to provide practical solutions for the cost-effective provision of modern healthcare. Among the telecom companies already offering such services include Vodafone (USA), AT&T (USA), Telmex (Mexico), Orange Telecom (France), Turkcell (Africa), Telefonica (Spain), Airtel (India), Grameenphone (Bangladesh), MTN (Africa), and STC (South Africa),” he said.
As early as 2012, Globe already saw a potentially significant opportunity to improve access to quality healthcare using technological advances.
One of the company’s efforts in the healthcare sector is Globe HealthCloud, an end-to-end web-based health ICT solution that enables real-time, secure and convenient access to health information.
Globe also tied up with ACCESS Health to provide fast and efficient access to maternal and child care services as well as with the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) for a mobile communications campaign that provides information and referrals to HIV counseling, testing and life-saving treatment programs.