Health as an investment: Social marketing to facilitate investment in an electronic medical record system in a resource-constrained community in the Philippines

Abstract

Background: Health information systems (HIS) such as Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems are essential in the integration of fragmented local health systems. Investing in HIS is crosscutting; it can address multiple interrelated health system gaps. However, public health authorities, especially those in resource-constrained communities, are often faced with the dual challenge of upgrading and digitalizing local HIS and addressing other more apparent health system gaps.

Objectives: The study aimed to identify and document strategies that not only motivate policy change towards adoption of electronic HIS but also address other health system gaps.

Methodology: The author, in his capacity as a local health official in a resource-constrained community,
developed, implemented, and documented a social marketing strategy wherein community stakeholders
were influenced to invest in an electronic medical record (EMR) system because it was shown to also have the capacity to address other priority health system gaps identified.

Results: The strategy, based on situational, stakeholder, and risk analyses, prompted local governance to first invest in improving the delivery of services accredited by the national health insurance program (PhilHealth), for which reimbursements would require electronically submitted claim forms. Community stakeholders then supported the proposal to invest in an EMR system because they were persuaded that it can facilitate increased financing from PhilHealth claims reimbursements, which could be used to enable not only improvement in existing health services but to also initiate other health programs.

Conclusion: Social marketing using the perspective of health as an investment influenced stakeholders to invest in an EMR system.