Healthscape Issue 4 ran an article on the holding of the STOP COVID-19 DEATHS: Clinical Management Updates webinar series to share the experiences and current practices of clinicians, scientists, researchers, and hospital administrators in the fight against COVID-19. The series is a joint project of the University of the Philippines through the UP Manila National Institutes of Health’s National Telehealth Center and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. 

The article included descriptions of three completed webinars at that time. The first webinar on 24 April 2020 featured pulmonologists while the second webinar on 01 May 2020 focused on managing COVID-19 cases from an infectious diseases perspective. The third webinar last May 15 focused on the Philippine involvement in the WHO randomized clinical trials to test the safety and effectiveness of four investigational drugs for COVID-19.

Since then, the webinars held as of this writing are as follows:

#4, May 15: COVID-19 AND THE KIDNEY, Dr. Elizabeth Montemayor, Vice President, Philippine Society of Nephrology and UPCM Professor, discussed the high association between patients with chronic kidney disease and severe cases of COVID-19

#5, May 22: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON CONTROL OF DENGUE, TB, HIV, AND OTHER INFECTIONS, Dr. Rontgene Solante, Head, Adult Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine, San Lazaro Hospital, gave a situationer of COVID-19 at the San Lazaro Hospital in terms of interventions, co-infections, and healthcare workers COVID-19 surveillance testing

#6, May 29: HOSPITAL PERSONNEL SAFETY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, Dr. Antonio B. Ramos, Manager, Dept of Administrative Services, Lung Center of the Philippines, talked on how hospitals retrofitted their physical, social, and therapeutic environments to ensure safety of hospital personnel

 #7, June 5: SUPPORTIVE CARE FOR MILD PNEUMONIA IN COMMUNITY ISOLATION: THE QUEZON INSTITUTE EXPERIENCE, Dr. Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial, Former Health Secretary; Medical Volunteer, Quezon Institute (QI) COVID-19 Community Isolation Facility; Head, PRC Biomolecular Laboratories; described the COVID situation at QI in terms of organizational structure, roles and responsibilities, and process flow and algorithm.

#8, June 12: COVID AND THE HEART, Dr. Chito Permejo, Medical Specialist III, Cardiology Intensive Care, Philippine Heart Center, narrated the connection between COVID-19 and cardiovascular diseases and ways to prevent the catastrophic progression of the disease 

#9, June 19: COVID-19 CLINICAL MANAGEMENT: THE CEBU EXPERIENCE, Dr. Mitzi Marie Chua, ICC Chair, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Cebu City, reviewed the Cebu City COVID-19 pandemic timeline and discussed its clinical management updates 

#10, June 26: COVID-19 AND THE CHILDREN: EXPERIENCE OF THE SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES MEDICAL CENTER (SPMC), DAVAO, Dr. Delta Aguilar, Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist, SPMC, Davao City, elucidated on how to protect and care for children during the pandemic

#11, July 3: REHABILITATION OF CRITICAL CARE SURVIVORS OF COVID-19, Dr. Celso F. Bate, Physiatrist of The Medical City and VRP Medical Center, emphasized the role of rehabilitation in the care of COVID patients and shared information on the rehabilitation of acute, inpatient, and outpatient COVID survivors; in addition to practical rehab tips

#12, July 10: COVID-19 CHALLENGES FOR ANESTHESIOLOGISTS, Dr. Grace Anne Herbosa, UPCM Professor and PGH Dept of Anesthesiology Chair, delineated the challenges posed by COVID-19 on the practice of anesthesiology, with focus on the PGH experience

Each webinar’s full proceedings may be accessed via Youtube under Stop COVID-19 Deaths Webinars.

Cynthia M. Villamor | Published in Healthscape Special COVID-19 Issue No. 12