City of Ilagan – The Provincial Local Government of Isabela has officially launched the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) telehealth app underscoring a ceremonial scanning and turn-over of scanners and laptop to border checkpoints in-charge held at Capitol Amphitheater on October 12.
Dubbed as “HealthGuard Ph app, it offers a fast and reliable platform for data recording, consolidation, handling and reporting of medical health information in response to the increasing COVID-19 cases in the region.
Lawyer Noel Manuel Lopez, the Provincial Administrator said the launching of the system in partnership with the Isabela State University will be used as an effective contact tracing to individuals entering Isabela.
“The HealthGuard app has a built-in notification system in a manner that it will give a notification to everybody to a person who tested positive he came in contact with.”
It is the first app that is entirely different from the other available apps since it will have the information as to the vaccination status of the populace.
Isabeleños are safe with regards to data privacy. They gave us (ISU) an assurance that there will no instance that the data connected from the registrants to the HealthGuard PH will be used for any other purpose, Atty. Lopez stressed.
Meanwhile, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee Chair on Health and Sanitation Hon. Emmanuel Joselito Añez said that there is a need to strengthen preventive measures specifically on contact tracing and monitoring to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
With the support of our beloved Governor Rodito Albano, we were able to secure this HealthGuard app PH, a software application developed by the Business Intelligence Research and Development Center (BIRD-C) and Isabela State Universe, Añez said.
Isabela State University President Dr. Ricmar Aquino stressed that HealthGuard can evaluate information for effective decision making for the governor and other policy makers.
“The HealthGuard app is still a work in progress, and ISU will continue to innovate the app. We have around us the developer of this app and they are open for suggestions and recommendations by the users to boost the system," Dr. Aquino added.
Dr. Aquino also extended his gratitude to Governor Rodito T. Albano for utilizing the app developed in Isabela citing that it can improve and provide better functionalities for the use of the entire province of Isabela.
On the other hand, Resource person Dr. Betchie Aguinaldo, ISU Director of Business Intelligence Research Center discussed HealthGuard and its technical features.
She said that HealthGuard was initially piloted in the Cauayan City and City of Ilagan that has beefed up promising results.
IPPO Provincial Director PCOL James Cipriano received the laptop, scanner, and Wi-Fi connectivity during the ceremonial turn-over of HealthGuard equipment needed at IPPO border checkpoints.
There will be at least nine border checkpoints in the province to be installed with HealthGuard – Cordon checkpoint, San Pablo, Santa Maria, San Agustin, San Mateo, Ramon, Roxas, Lepanto, Quezon and Abut, Quezon border checkpoints.
The Provincial Capitol has installed HealthGuard scanners and now HealthGuard ready, at the PGSO, PSWDO, GFNDy Hospital, Cauayan District Hospital and Echague District Hospital.
The HealthGuard launch concluded with a Press Conference attended by broadcast and print media in the province.
HealthGuard is an app that could also be used by those people without cellphones because it is printable with all information contained in the Quick Response or QR code. The advantage that is not present in the StaySafe and S-PASS system is the incorporation of the data on vaccination, Lopez added.
This platform addresses the current issue not only in the province but across the Cagayan Valley region as it struggles to prevent the increase of COVID-19 cases in the region noting that lack of information and documentation of COVID positive patients have led to the rise of active cases in the province.