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Thursday, January 01, 2004
Toral: Tele-medicine
By Janette Toral
Digital Filipino
ACCESS. Hospitals and medical professionals are important national resources for Filipinos.
Luckily for urban residents, they are accessible, whenever, wherever needed. However, in the less developed rural areas and provincial cities, this is not always the situation.
The lack of specialists
and equipment results in wrong diagnoses and even death to some of our countrymen. As far as qualified radiologists alone, it is
estimated that nearly 95 percent reside in urban areas, leaving only a few working in remote places.
But in every crisis or problem, there’s always an opportunity.
Gerardo Millena, a medical systems engineer and expert in diagnostic medical imaging, saw information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool in addressing this medical services disparity.
He started Geramil Technology services in February 1998. He came up with the country’s first x-ray film digitizer, RadFilm, combined with Internet tele-radiology.
This allows hospitals to have x-rays and CT-scan exam, MRI and mammography films converted into film-less mode, uploaded in the Internet using Webshots.com, and be downloaded almost anywhere there is an Internet connection by a radiologist tele-reader, allowing referral to specialists faster.
Geramil’s effort was noticed and it bagged awards such as the 3rd National IT Search for Product Excellence and the Likha Award for Outstanding Creative Research in Communication Information Technology.
I consider Mr. Millena a social entrepreneur, for his initiative is
critical and useful in saving lives of Filipinos in remote rural and urban areas where medical expertise is not easily available.
As its corporate commitment states, “If the doctors from the cities can’t go to the barrios, then RadFilm will bring the barrios to the doctors in the cities using the Internet.”
May Mr. Millena’s story be an inspiration to entrepreneurs who would like to put up a business but at the same time help fellow Filipinos.
SERVICES EXPORT. I got this message lately from a reader. “I read your article about services exporting strategy and was wondering when the next seminar will be. I am working on establishing an animation company offering photo-realistic architectural visualization and
simulation for architects, developers and builders.”
There is no schedule yet for this next Bureau of Export and Trade Promotion seminar. It is best to inquire at your local Department of Trade and Industry office, which can organize this too. As a back-up option, you can join the Digital-Filipino.com Club where members can take the Successful Services Exporting Workshop Online for free by Jan. 12, 2004. You can sign up at http://www.digitalfilipino.com.
(Janette welcomes comments at janette@digitalfilipino.com.)
(January 1, 2004 issue)
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