Text by: Jennifer Manongdo
Photo by: Sarah Hazel Moces Pulumbarit

The University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) and Microcircuits Corporation (MCC) strengthened their partnership that aims to catalyze primary care systems so that they function as the gateway to universal health care (UHC). Primary care is the most equitable layer of health systems, yet it remains underdeveloped nationwide. 

The launch builds on a landmark agreement made earlier by the two institutions to continue beyond research the co-development and deployment of the e-MED Primary Care Health Information System. e-MED is a pioneering electronic health record (EHR) system designed to empower implementers of universal health care (UHC) in the Philippines through features that address various health system challenges.

Building on the UP Manila–Microcircuits Corporation co-development agreement, the expanded partnership leverages the University’s health sciences leadership and stakeholder reach to advance UHC-compliant electronic health systems. This proven public-private model continues to enable practical, nationwide progress under the Universal Health Care Act of 2019.

FEATURES

One of the biggest challenges remains the shortage and maldistribution of human resources for health, leaving many of the country’s City and Municipal Health Officers (CHO and MHO) and their teams to be responsible for several thousand households, a lot more than the recommended personnel-to-population ratios. e-MED has a clinical approval feature patterned after the trust and teamwork that high-functioning primary care teams rely on to do their jobs. For decades, nurses and midwives have served as force multipliers of overburdened CHOs and MHOs.

“It allows a doctor in a central location to coordinate real-time patient care with their nurses and midwives in multiple peripheral locations. Clinic staff at the barangay [village] health station (BHS) can see patients and make chart entries, then instantly send their work to the doctor at the city health office or rural health unit (RHU) for review,”  explained Dr. Jose Rafael Marfori, one of the lead inventors of e-MED along with academician and UP Professor Emeritus, Dr. Antonio Dans. This chart sharing allows the doctor to make informed decisions for the patient. 

“This all happens in real-time,” Dr. Dans said, “and it doubles as teaching and training among the doctor, midwife, and nurse through real-time, on-the-job feedback.” Most importantly, the patient gets better care at the barangay level as if the doctor were actually constantly present, building trust, and the central clinic gets decongested by empowering its satellites.

Moreover, the system only allows labs and pharmacies in the primary care network to act on prescriptions that are physician-approved.  The e-MED system also has a way of tracking and billing any prescribed patient transportation, a practice pioneered by its creators during its research stage.

Another key innovation is multilevel referral, or the ability to refer patients to practitioners, facilities, or departments within the network, while maintaining privacy and confidentiality. This feature helps guarantee that patients get the services and specialties they need, whether or not their primary care doctor knows the other party by name. “Imagine your doctor’s phonebook keeping up with a province-wide or city-wide health network, which evolves. This feature helps with that,” Dr. Marfori explained, “through the workflow, not just a directory.” With “nameless” referral capabilities, e-MED ensures that the UHC Act’s networked health care can be operationalized, allowing people in different facilities to work together seamlessly, even if they have never met. Because the medical record is shared, team members like specialists can be anywhere in the country – in the city or a tertiary hospital – and still give appropriate instructions remotely. If patients travel far for face-to-face visits, their record “follows” them, so the specialist can access their most accurate medical record.

e-MED is a web-based platform accessible on computers, tablets, and mobile phones, allowing flexibility for field work, house visits, and networked health care delivery.  

“It’s very universal health care (UHC) compatible and primary care compatible. It helps deal with the shortage or maldistribution of doctors, and it transforms individual providers into the PCPNs and HCPNs we aspire to build as a means toward UHC,” Dr. Dans emphasized, referring to the primary care provider network and health care provider network.

ORIGINS

e-MED was first created by Philippine Primary Care Studies (PPCS), a UP research program funded by UP, DOH, and PhilHealth. The e-MED system has since been jointly developed by MCC and UP Manila and has been successfully deployed in 11 Regions, including over 300 facilities in Bataan, La Union, and Pasig City, among others, since 2021. It currently houses clinical records for over 4.4 million beneficiaries.

WHAT’S NEXT

UP Manila and MCC formally signed an agreement on intellectual property commercialization on Nov. 3, 2025, paving the way for a wider distribution of the system, ready for adoption by local governments and the national government. 

In the past, MCC has developed and implemented hospital management information systems for numerous hospitals around the country, owned and operated by local governments and the national government alike. This includes a number of DOH Regional Hospitals and Veterans’ Memorial Hospital.

“With this partnership, the benefit towards healthcare, especially for the indigent community, is limitless. Our vision is to take it to the national level,” Microcircuits President Rosendo Go said.# 

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