Since the outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020, the healthcare system – its strengths and pitfalls alike – has been under a microscope, and understandably so, being the primary line of defense against the viral disease.
With the virus’ transmissibility and stress on social distancing, both the government and the private sector sought to use technology as the conduit to deliver health services and vital communication to the public, and to support key COVID-suppression measures such as contract tracing.
Telehealth is not a novel development, and most hospitals and clinics have used connections in one way or another, but the pandemic has made it the norm. In this new landscape, fiber broadband connectivity – with its high-capacity bandwidth and speed – has distinguished itself as an essential technology.
“Telemedicine is not a new thing, it’s been there for the longest time but we were forced into it. Not just patients, but doctors themselves. And we couldn’t just say, that we’ll provide a platform. We had to provide a platform and the support alongside it,” said Dr. Jan Denton Chua, Health Cube Medical Clinics President.
“Converge has helped Health Cube in many different ways from the basics of having a stable internet connection from the back office to the front office of [it has helped] how we’re able to see patients and provide that service,” he added.
For Health Cube – a multi-branch medical facility providing outpatient healthcare – fiber broadband underpins many of its core services such as online consultations, accessing medical records and lab results, teleradiology, and support services such as patient registration and HMO approval, all done through a dedicated health portal it created.
With the risks of COVID still very much present and its evolution into variants an ongoing phenomenon, it is clear that the integration of technology and healthcare is no passing fad, and that it will likely be the status quo for years to come.
“It was about a good merger of providing an online platform and a face-to-face set up. We had to put them all together. We’ve been using Converge ever since we started here and it’s actually been very reliable for us,” Dr. Chua said.
For enterprise customers, Converge offers a suite of digital solutions. Aside from high-speed broadband internet services, it also offers other connectivity solutions such as private data network services and cloud and colocation services.
“Converge has always been looking for enterprise solutions that will support critical sectors in our society, such as those in the healthcare sector. This is not just business for us, it’s really a way to provide the best connectivity to a crucial sector,” said Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus C. Romero.
