Ateneo School of Government congratulates Dr Dennis Batangan, ASoG Lecturer, Ateneo IPC Fellow

The Ateneo School of Government congratulates Dr. Dennis Batangan and the entire eHATID team for the various recognitions they received through their main product, the eHATID LGU application called the eHealth Technology-Assisted Boards for LGU Efficiency and Transparency (eHealth TABLET). The app was given the “People’s Choice Award” in the recently held TECHNiCOM Awards 2021 by the Department of Science and Technology - Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI). The eHATID project is led by Dr. Dennis Batangan of the Ateneo de Manila University Institute of the Philippine Culture (IPC). Dr. Batangan is a member of the faculty of the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) Master in Public Management (MPM) Health Governance Track.

In the same awarding, held December 20, 2021, eHATID was also given a Certificate of Recognition under the Gawad DAGISIK category. Gawad DAGISIK refers to Dakilang Ambag sa Imbensyon at Siyensiyang pang-Kalusugan, the award category for innovations related to health and food security with potential for commercialization. The awarding ceremonies were held as part of the DOST-TAPI’s week-long Accomplishments and Culminating Activity of Special Projects (WACAS).

Besides the recognitions from DOST-TAPI, eHATID also received the Certificate of Distinction in the 2021 National Inventors Week dubbed as “Outstanding Philippine Innovation Revolution (OPHIR).” Additionally, it was given the “Bronze Prize” in the “Outstanding Pending Patent Category (Gawad Manuel G. Goyena)” award. This awarding event, an initiative by the Filipino Inventors Society, was held last November 15 - 19, 2021 with the theme “Pitching Innovative Products in the Marketplace through Synergized Partnerships.”

The innovation that is eHATID

The eHATID LGU Application, which is the main product of the eHATID project, is an android-based software application that provides city- and province-wide health information systems. The main feature of the app is its built-in Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, able to generate accurate health analyses and reports. These reports then provide information on the health status of a municipality, city, or province and are automatically integrated among Rural Health Units (RHUs), other concerned local government units, the Department of Health (DOH), and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). The app may be used even without the internet.

Its main goal is to improve the patient data management system of cities and municipalities which lead to better monitoring and delivery of services to the people. Besides this, the eHATID LGU Application also provides security and protection of patient data.

The eHATID proponents

The eHATID project is led by Dr Dennis Batangan of the Ateneo de Manila University Institute of the Philippine Culture (IPC). Dr Batangan is a member of the faculty of the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) Master in Public Management (MPM) Health Governance Track. Ateneo de Manila serves as the Research Development Institution (RDI) that implemented the eHATID project, with the IPC as the implementing research unit. Furthermore, Ateneo also manages the Intellectual Property Rights of eHATID through the Ateneo Intellectual Property Office.

The eHATID project is meanwhile funded by the Technology Innovation for Commercialization (TECHNiCOM) Program of the DOST-TAPI; and the project is supported by the DOST Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), through the program Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST). Besides these units, other DOST agencies were also tapped for various purposes: the DOST Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) for cloud and research service; and the Computing and Archiving Research Environment (COARE) for its database.

More on the eHATID LGU Application

The inception for the eHATID project began in 2012, a time when, Dr. Batangan states, the role of information communication technology for development was being widely discussed. Dr. Batangan’s involvement in DOST’s eHealth paved the way for eHATID and by the following year, 2013, the eHATID project started with the development of the eHealth TABLET prototype. It was in 2017 when TECHNiCOM supported the project.

The project was in its conclusion stage by 2019 when the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act became a law and, consequently, uncertainties related to the technology they were developing arised. The team then began reconceptualizing once again within the UHC frame. Later on, in 2021, the app would be discovered by Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno in a DOST-PCHRD event, and would have its pilot run in the city government of Cagayan de Oro.

As it abided by the UHC Law, the app also provides seamless data-transfer from local to national level, as patient health data with reporting requirements of the DOH and Philhealth may be generated through it. This makes for an efficient mayor-to-doctor communication system that greatly boosts an LGU’s decision-making capacities.

Additionally, the app also has the Smarter and Integrated Local Health Information System (SmILHIS) component, which contributes to a streamlined information management system of LGUs by interfacing both health and non-health information systems.

As the internet is not a necessity to utilize the app, even areas with poor connectivity can benefit from the eHATID LGU Application or eHEALTH TABLET.

Moving forward the implementation

In  May of 2021, a virtual signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was held towards efforts of improving local health systems in Pangasinan–a collaboration among AdMU IPC, DOST-PCHRD, and the Pangasinan Provincial Health Office (PHO). It is expected that the technology offered by the eHATID project will prove its usefulness in strengthening the health information management capacities of the Province and its capability to exchange data on the national level. Meanwhile, the adoption of the technologies offered by the eHATID project continues to be adopted in the city with foreseeable significant contributions to its health information management systems.

To know more about the eHATID project, the video may be accessed here.

The Ateneo School of Government again congratulates Dr. Dennis Batangan and the entire eHATID project team for this valuable contribution to our public health sector that serves not just our local and national health government leaders but, ultimately, the Filipino communities. ASoG is honored to have Dr. Batangan as part of the minds that mold and enhance the future leaders of our country through our MPM Health Governance track.