"We must maximize telehealth potential and adopt international telehealth standards," said Senator Edgardo Angara, in his keynote address read at the first "eHealth & Telemedicine Philippines 2009" conference and exhibition which opened yesterday at the Crowne Plaza Galleria in Quezon City.

HEALTHCARE AND TECHNOLOGY. Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary Fortunato "Boy" Dela Peña (extreme right), representing Senator Edgardo J. Angara, 14th Congress chairman of Senate Committee on Science and Technology, and Dr. Ramon L. Arcadio, chancellor of the University of the Philippines (Manila), open the First eHealth and Telemedicine Conference and Exhibition, co-sponsored by Media G8way Corp. and the UP (Manila). The event brings together the major players of the healthcare and IT industries, to emphasize the importance of the use of technology in delivering quality health services. Also present during the opening are (at the back, from left) Angeloe Timoteo Diaz de Rivera, commissioner of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology; and Dr. Alvin Marcelo, director of the National Telehealth Center. Running May 7 to May 8 at the Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City. MEDIA G8WAY PHOTO

In his speech read by Department of Science and Technology (DOST) undersecretary Fortunato "Boy" Dela Pena, Angara stressed that the mandate remains the same in solving the country's problem on healthcare, which is improving the scope and quality of healthcare while driving down its cost. And the best solution he said is "E-Health."