Hytera PoC-based System Delivers Multi-tech Solution for Philippines Regional Health Authority
MIMAROPA, officially the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines, including a number of islands such as Palawan and Mindoro. As the population is spread out across various islands there is a decentralized health system. Public health services are mostly provided by local government units (LGUs).
The health authorities have a need to collect timely and accurate epidemiologic information from the implementation of health programs and guide health policy making.
This kind of information helps the Department of Health Regional Office (DOH-RHO) in MIMAROPA provide the appropriate technical assistance to LGUs. Local health personnel also need assistance in developing their own epidemiologic expertise, particularly in the areas of public health surveillance and disease prevention and control.
-
User
Department of Health, MIMAROPA Hytera Partner: Microbiz -
Project Time
2021 -
Market Segment
Local Government -
Product
Hytera HyTalk Pro PoC Platform
PNC380 Handheld PoC Terminals
PDC550 Handheld Dual-Mode (DMR/LTE) Terminals
SmartOne Dispatch System
Challenge
Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units (RESUs) provide a crucial link between the central office and devolved health units, as they serve as “information services nodes”. They can be used to build up local epidemiologic expertise in the field.
However, to provide the timely information required from the dispersed health units across the region, it was clear that DOH-MIMAROPA needed to modernise and strengthen its communications infrastructure by deploying collaborative multi-media technologies such as Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) communications.
The new communications system needed to meet a number of different requirements. DOH-MIMAROPA wanted a secure platform capable of supporting multi-mode communications between the regional head office and the various provincial offices.
It also wanted to have the ability to continue to be able to communicate in the event that the public telephone system was unavailable due to, for example, a natural disaster or a power failure. Any new communications solution also had to be able to integrate with the existing PABX availability.
Solutions
DOH-MIMAROPA chose to begin its communications modernisation by implementing a Hytera HyTalk Pro PoC platform supplied by Hytera partner Microbiz, based in Makati, Philippines. The Phase 1 works focused on establishing the PoC platform along with a Hytera SmartOne dispatch system and PNC380 handheld PoC radios and PDC550 dual-mode (DMR/LTE) handheld radios.
The major bene can also accommodate the future upgrades and additions required by DOH-MIMAROPA, such as interconnecting with PABX systems, DMR two-way radio networks, video surveillance cameras and other IP-based communications systems.A Gigabit switch connects with the IP network supporting the PoC radio terminals and Wi-Fi communications. It will also interconnect the PoC system and network management system (NMS) with DMR radios as and when they are added. It also connects to the existing PABX IP desk phones in the regional head office, so radio users can communicate directly with DOH-RHO staff even though they do not have access to radio. The plan is to add a GSM gateway with eight ports when the PABX system is upgraded.
About Department of Health, MIMAROP, Philippines
The Department of Health for the MIMAROPA region of the Philippines required a cost effective, wide area coverage multimedia communications system capable of integrating a number of different technologies. Hytera supplied its HyTalk Pro PoC solution with a unified communications platform, along with a SmartOne dispatch system and a mix of PoC and dual-mode DMR/LTE handheld terminals. Local health services are now able to feed back information on outbreaks of disease and receive help and advice much more efficiently.
Benefits
Unified Communications
The PoC platform enables the customer to integrate different modes of communications such as GSM, DMR and PABX. This provides resilience and redundancy, as well as enabling other IP-based services such as CCTV to be integrated. The future DMR network will provide a fallback communications solution should the GSM mobile phone networks fail.
Wide Area Communications
The PoC system operates over nationwide public mobile phone networks (as well as private LTE and Wi-Fi networks), which provides a cost effective way of delivering radio coverage across the different islands that make up the MIMAROPA region.
Dispatch System
The Hytera SmartOne dispatch system allows voice dispatching, video dispatching, live video streaming, GPS tracking and location, voice and video recording.
Real-time Monitoring
The solution offers greater transparency, as it enables the real-time monitoring of important deliveries from head office to provincial offices, the tracking of vaccines and specimen samples, as well as recording the number of available hospital beds at any one time. The ability to remotely carry out inspections and surveillance helps to reduce costs.
Quality control
The multimedia recording and playback system helps with quality control, as health supervisors can review dispatch conversations for audit purposes.
Video Calling and Streaming
The broadband PoC system enables health staff to conduct video conferences with telemedicine advice remotely and improves situational awareness, as they can see and talk to health staff and patients.
The Hytera HyTalk Pro PoC platform provides the basis for a modern multimedia communications platform, which is helping to improve the efficiency of healthcare services in the MIMAROPA region of the Philippines. This in turn will help to improve the services DOH-MIMAROPA offers and will produce better patient health outcomes.
Ready to talk? Get in touch with us.