The country’s Center for Excellence in Dermatology – the Department of Dermatology at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center and RemediPlus Solutions Company have agreed to work together on digital health programs to provide the first teledermatology set-up initially with the Municipality of Santa Cruz Marinduque.
Dr. Ma Flordeliz Abad-Casintahan, Chairperson of the department sees this as an important area for innovation in the Philippines to spread their expertise in rural communities addressing the shortage of doctors in the country to date.
What is TeleDermatology?
Teledermatology is a subspecialty in the medical field of dermatology and probably one of the most common applications of telemedicine and e-health.[1] In teledermatology, telecommunication technologies are used to exchange medical information (concerning skin conditions and tumours of the skin) over a distance using audio, visual, and data communication. Applications comprise health care management such as diagnoses, consultation, and treatment as well as (continuous) education.[2][3][4]
PH lack MDs!
Based from the Department of Health December 2021 figures, the Philippines has 3.7 doctors for every 10,000 Filipinos. This falls short of the World Health Organization-recommended ratio of 10 doctors per 10,000 people. Around 28 towns also do not have a doctor.
A closer look on the number shows the unequal distribution of health workers, where 7.62% of them are in Metro Manila, meanwhile, only 1.28% of physicians are in MIMAROPA, 1.38% in SOCCSKSARGEN, and 0.74% in the Bangsamoro Region.
