Miura Takashi, JICA Consultant for Laboratory Management, leads an on-site visit to Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center laboratory department during a laboratory evaluation and assessment activity on Thursday, September 29, 2022, for the establishment of an Integrated Laboratory Information System for the Ilocos region. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Health Ilocos)
LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte — Health officials will improve the laboratory system across the Ilocos region to detect and respond to emerging diseases, the regional Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.
With the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), an Integrated Laboratory Information System (ILIS) will be established in the region, according to the regional DOH.
During an on-site visit at the DOH-Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center on Thursday, Miura Takashi, JICA consultant for laboratory management, said these laboratory information systems “are critical to high-quality health care service provision.”
Takashi added that demand for “these systems is growing fast, and the health care system must be able to meet the resulting technological and workload demands.”
DOH regional director Paula Paz Sydiongco said in a statement on Friday that an ILIS, which has seen increased importance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, would help “increase operational efficiency.”
“We are hoping that JICA can help us develop and institutionalize a framework for an integrated performance system specifically for specimen referral, supply chain management, and performance management system,” said Sydiongco.
With JICA’s assistance, the ILIS would also serve as the “backbone for both public and private clinical laboratories in the region to achieve the objectives of the Universal Health Care (UHC) law,” she said.
JICA has been providing technical assistance to the DOH in strengthening the Philippine Health Laboratory System Surveillance. INQ
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