UPGRADING A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY MEDICAL SCHOOL FOR THE NEW
MILLENNIUM
(From Zero to Broadband: Lessons Learned in Building a Network Infrastructure for a
College of Medicine in the University of the Philippines)
Emmanuel C. Besa, M.D. and Alvin Marcelo, M.D.
University of the Philippines College of Medicine, Manila, Philippines and the University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society in America (UPMASA).
ABSTRACT:
The University of the Philippines College of Medicine is the premier academic medical institution in the Philippines. With over seven hundred undergraduate students and five hundred faculty, we understood that an information infrastructure was critical in maintaining leadership in the medical community. Fortunately, with the support of its alumni, the UP Alumni Society in America, the College was able to build a network from virtually nothing to what is now a broadband Internet connection in a matter of three years. This paper details the steps we took in developing this infrastructure and our plans on how to use this to push the College to the twenty first century.
The Dean and a group of computer savvy faculty members in the medical college in Manila organized themselves a Medical Informatics Unit (MIU)and prepared a plan to computerize and network the medical school campus including administration, basic science laboratories, lecture halls,library and hospital clinical departments. They divided the project in the following Phases:
Phase I (Completion of UPCM LAN) - Network is operational. Mail and webservers have been installed. Mailing lists operational.
Phase II - (Document Management System)
Phase III - (Digitization of Medical Educational Materials)
Phase IV - (Broadband Connectivity to the Internet)- utilizing cable modemservice. The
UPMASA began raising funds for the project and kept their promise by meeting the costs of each phase funded on the same year of the submission.
PHASE I $38,449.00
Phase II-LAN $8,794.81
Phase III- Document Management System* $12,105.30
Phase IV Internet Connection $18,450.35
Total UPMASA Donation $77,799.46
We will give a chronological presentation of the events that led to our acquisition of a broadband network for our College of Medicine. In each of the phases we went through, we will share the lessons we learned including the oversights and shortcomings. Despite the obstacles we faced, we succeeded in our ultimate plan and believe our model is workable in the environment of a developing country where resources are limited. Lastly,we will describe the numerous potentials both locally and internationally,that this technological infrastructure has opened up for us.
BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:
Guide to helping a Third world medical school upgrade into the new millennium. Lessons learned and advise for others interested in doing the same for another country.
Emmanuel C. Besa, M.D
Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology and Oncology
MCP Hahnemann University
3300 Henry Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA
Phone: 215-842-6980
Fax: 215-843-3620
Email: emmanuel.besa@drexel.edu
CO-AUTHORS:
Alvin B. Marcelo, M.D.
Chairman, Medical Informatics Unit
University of the Philippines College of Medicine
Padre Faura, Ermita
Metro Manila, Philippines
Email: alvinmarcelo@hotmail.com