Reflections on the Digital Health Interoperability Bootcamp

A Journey into Healthcare Innovation

I was honored to be invited to the Digital Health Interoperability Bootcamp Manila by UPSilab from February 4 to 6, representing SeeYouDoc, a telemedicine & EMR platform within the private sector. My goal was to understand the technologies that would enable SeeYouDoc to integrate with DOH, PhilHealth, and other EMR systems. But more than that, I was eager to meet like-minded individuals who share the same passion for healthcare innovation in the Philippines.

During the event, I was fortunate to be seated alongside key players in the healthcare ecosystem—experts from Wireless Access for Health (WAH), Tantum Quantum Head Quarters (TQHQ), the Department of Health (DOH), Hive Health, AC Health, and the World Health Organization (WHO). It was an exciting mix of health system providers, government agencies, and international organizations, all working towards a common goal: enhancing healthcare interoperability.

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Day 1: Setting the Stage

The first day set the tone for an engaging and insightful bootcamp. We were introduced to foreign partners collaborating with UP SILAB, including:

Key Foreign Partners and Technologies

• CSIRO (Australia)
  • Smart Forms: Interactive form builder for FHIR resources.
  • Shrimp: A browser for FHIR CodeSystem, SNOMED CT, and LOINC.
  • Ontoserver: A terminology server implementing FHIR terminology services.
• Health Samurai (USA)
  • Developed Aidbox, an advanced HL7 FHIR server with powerful features:
    • IAM (Open ID connect authentication)
    • Form Builder
    • View Table Builder
• Beda EMR
  • An EMR system integrating with FHIR servers.
  • Successfully tested with Aidbox.
• Google Open Health Stack Team
  • OHS SDK for Android:
    • Connects with an HL7 FHIR server for data storage.
    • Provides components for mobile UI development.
    • Offers offline support using SQLite and background sync workers.
• Global Health Leaders
  • India: The most advanced country in HL7 FHIR adoption, successfully implementing interoperability across their national healthcare system.
  • Nepal & Other Countries: Learning from their experiences and challenges.
• Smile Digital Health
  • Experts in HL7 FHIR implementation.
  • Uses HAPI FHIR, an open-source FHIR framework.

Hands-On Training: Transforming Paper Forms into FHIR Questionnaires

After lunch, we dived into practical training:

1. Building HL7 FHIR Questionnaire Forms using Smart Forms & Aidbox Form Templates.
2. Team collaboration: Each table worked on digitizing a chosen health form.
3. Presentation preparation: Teams prepared to present their solutions the next day.

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Day 2: Implementation and Innovation

We continued working on our Questionnaire Forms, transforming them into digital FHIR resources. Our group (Table 10) focused on:

• Child Immunization Forms
• COVID-19 Case Investigation Forms
• Diabetes Patient Care Plan - Digital App Form

Exploring Beda EMR & Aidbox Integration

I took this opportunity to explore Beda EMR and successfully integrated it with Aidbox. This allowed me to:

• Access patient resources
• Connect Questionnaire Forms to auto-populate patient data

Live Demonstration: Auto-Populating Patient Data

I presented a live demo showcasing how BedaEMR & Aidbox work together, dynamically pulling patient data into FHIR forms.

Google’s Open Health Stack Presentation

Jing from Google introduced us to Open Health Stack (OHS), demonstrating how to develop Android health applications powered by HL7 FHIR.

A Special Visit from Sec. Ted Herbosa

In a surprise visit, DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa shared his vision of a national healthcare Command Center, capable of displaying real-time dashboards tracking healthcare operations across the country.

This moment inspired me to think deeply—How can we build this Command Center using HL7 FHIR?

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Day 3: Real-Time Analytics & The Future of Healthcare Dashboards

Motivated by Sec. Herbosa’s vision, I spent the third day exploring FHIR analytics and visualization.

Building Real-Time Dashboards with Metabase

We trained on FHIR Pipelines, FHIR Path Queries, & SQL on FHIR, learning to:

• Extract FHIR data efficiently.
• Transform it into View Tables within PostgreSQL.
• Use Metabase to create real-time health dashboards.

Hands-On Success: My First FHIR Dashboard

I was able to create real-time analytics dashboards, including:

• Alcohol Consumption per Gender & Status
• Unhealthy BMI Metrics
• Smoker Demographics
• Patient Demographics

Seeing this data come to life was exciting—it proved that FHIR could power meaningful healthcare insights and I was able to demonstrate this in the event.

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Key Takeaways & Conclusion

While I had prior experience with HL7 FHIR, I initially felt uncertain about which FHIR server to use, how best to integrate it, and how to visualize the data. However, by the end of the bootcamp, I had:

• Gained hands-on experience integrating SeeYouDoc with Aidbox.
• Enhanced my ability to build health analytics dashboards.
• Developed a clearer vision for SeeYouDoc’s future interoperability.

But more importantly, I left with a renewed drive to help DOH and Sec. Ted Herbosa in their mission to build a national healthcare Command Center. The right technology and expertise are within reach—it’s now a matter of execution.

🚀 The future of digital health interoperability in the Philippines is bright, and I am excited to be part of this transformation! Thank you UPSilab community!