At MakatiMed, we have continuously used evolving teleconferencing systems to consult with colleagues at the prestigious Stanford University Medical Center, and, more recently, the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. What initially began as overseas phone calls and fax messages is now a state-of-the-art communication system designed to share medical knowledge and provide exceptional and cutting-edge medical care to our patients.

Optimizing Phone Lines

For a collaborative partnership between Stanford and MakatiMed on secondary diagnoses and opinions, the first trans-Pacific link between hospitals was set up using ordinary phone lines. The system allowed for live consultations held at 8 am to 9 am in Manila (4 pm to 5 pm in California). The domestic and foreign consultants for all telemedicine consultations done in 1992 did not charge any professional fees.

• Stanford loans MakatiMed an Optel Telemedicine conference system on an open-ended basis in November 1991 with the help of Dale Jensen, director and Dr. Walter Arons, medical director of Stanford’s International Medical Services (IMS)
• Purna Prasad, a Stanford medical engineer, installed and set up the system.

Videoconferences for All

Today, conferences start at 8 am Manila time and generally last for an hour and a half. These are attended by around 80 to 100 doctors from MakatiMed and different Metro Manila hospitals.

Our monthly videoconferences are organized largely through the efforts of Cara Towle, manager of the U.S. Health Care at the UCSF campus who synchronizes topics and invites speakers from the medical staff of the UCSF Medical Center and Stanford University Medical Center.