Health care must transform in order to meet the challenges of the information age and  address the  greater demand for efficiency and for quality of health care services. With the growing popularity of mobile devices, people are starting to recognize the potential of these apparatus  as platforms for health innovation to cater to the growing needs of the society.

The use of mobile devices for health,  known as mHealth, presents an exceptional opportunity for improving public health. Researchers from De La Salle University (DLSU) seized this opportunity for better access to country’s improvedhealth services for Persons with Disabilities and health emergency response.

Dubbed as “Smart Nurse for People with Disabilities”, researchers¹ presented the mobile application PWDe (Pwede) during the Likha Pilipinas Conference held at DLSU on 14 October.  The researchers explored the potential of using mobile technology to create solutions for people with special needs such as persons with disabilities.

PWDe features ePharmacy, eRx (ePrescription), and eRecords to track the  healthcare needs of persons with disabilities. Other features of the application are facial recognition, language option, and audible response.

Another group ofresearchers² from DLSU introduced Hero Support, a mobile application for hassle-free emergency calls.HeroSupport  instantly connects the user to the appropriate emergency hotline within Metro Manila instantly, without having to memorize or save each and every hotline number in one’s phone.

Hero Support E-Directory application, as the name infers, is a mobile directory of emergency hotlines in Metro Manila. The application automatically detects the user’s geographic locationto determine which particular hotline to call, and loads the corresponding number automatically on the dial button within the application. The app was conceptualized after Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) as a valuable response tool in disaster emergencies.  The app is designed to help people reach the appropriate responders and authorities instantly for  health emergencies (hospitals), police matters, and fire rescue.

Moving forward,  the potential of these mobile applications could dramatically change healthcare and emergency response. In the near future, anyone with a smartphone would be able to reap the benefits of these innovations with thorough understanding  of their risks and benefits.

The mobile applications were presented during  Likha Pilipinas: The 1st Philippine Multi-Disciplinary Summit on Creativity and Innovation held on 13-14 October 2015 at Cultural Center  of the Philippines and De La Salle University.

Hero Support E-Directory Application is available for download for iPhones and Android phones.

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¹Cao, Rupert Jiel, Gabriel, Angela Ann, Salazar, Stephanie, Yabut, Jhan Michael.PWDe: Smart Nurse for People with Disabilities

²Navarro, Gerard, Paglinawan, Ronald,  Cheng, Vincent, Ejercito,Jerico, Tarroza,Rodel, VillarazaRon, and Lu, Ria. Hero Support Mobile Application