Nursing Informatics in the Philippines:

History and Present Educational Situation

The word Nursing Informatics was made

familiar to the Philippine community by the year
2008.

 1996 - Philippine Medical Informatics Society (PMIS)

was established which made a very strong influence in
the development of health informatics in the Philippines.

1998- faculty members of the University of the

Philippines began formal education and training in
medical informatics and information science.
1999- Standards of Health Information of the
Philippines 1999 (SHIP99) was established. It was
headed by National Institute of Health of the UP Manila
with the collaboration of Philippine Nurses Association

 2005-2006- Health Informatics was offered by UP-Manila

College of Medicine (major in medical informatics) and
College of Arts and Sciences (major in bioinformatics)
2008- Commission on Higher Education Memorandum 5
Series of 2008 defined Nursing Informatics course in the
undergraduate curriculum.
2009- This was later revised and included as Health
Informatics course in CHED Memorandum Order 14 Series
of 2009
First Implementation of the integration of Nursing
Informatics in the undergraduate curriculum was on the
summer of 2010.

PROBLEMS

1. The inclusion of informatics as an integral part of the

undergraduate curriculum has been one of the most
influential factors for the increased awareness and
interest in this field of nursing. However, the contents
of the curriculum was adapted from international
materials which does not match the local needs.
2. Lack of certification and credentialing programs in
post-graduate levels are also absent with the scarcity
of local nursing informatics experts. This new
field has yet to gain acceptance and recognition in the
nursing community as a sub-specialty.

RESOLUTION

As information technology and computing slowly advance

HEALTH CARE practices nowadays, there is seemingly a
need to improve the preparation of our nursing students
academically and clinically as they engage themselves
with a new concept of Nursing Informatics. Nursing
schools across the country has been implementing the
course Informatics. However, there is a need to
standardize the contents of the course being implemented
by nursing schools. Theoretical concepts and practical
applications should be aligned so that it may be applicable
to the Philippine setting.