Boracay Island, Aklan | 18–20 June 2025
The Philippines hosted a landmark digital health capacity-building event as Grahame Grieve, widely recognized as the father of FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources), visited the country from 18 to 20 June 2025. The visit culminated in a high-level masterclass on health data interoperability held in Boracay Island for the Provincial Government of Aklan.
Key highlights of the visit included:
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Executive-level Masterclass
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Mr. Grieve led an intensive training on FHIR principles, governance, and real-world implementation.
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Sessions focused on building safe, interoperable, and standards-based digital health systems for provincial and local government use.
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Strong Local Government Leadership
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The activity was graced by Jose Enrique Miraflores, underscoring Aklan’s commitment to digital transformation in health.
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Provincial Health Officer Leslie Ann Luces mobilized the Provincial Health Office information technology team to fully participate in the training.
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International Technical Support
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Mr. Grieve was accompanied by Michael Lawley and Umer Nisar from CSIRO, providing additional expertise on standards implementation and applied health informatics.
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Local Professional Organization Involvement
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The activity was co-organized by Alvin Marcelo, President of the Philippine Society for Digital Health and Convener of the Standards and Interoperability Lab.
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The collaboration reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen national and subnational capacity for interoperable digital health systems aligned with global standards.
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Significance of the Visit
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Reinforced the Philippines’ alignment with international health data standards.
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Built practical capacity at the provincial level for interoperable health information systems.
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Demonstrated effective collaboration between local government, professional societies, and international technical partners.
This visit marks an important milestone in advancing standards-based digital health in the Philippines, with Aklan positioned as a leading example of provincial-level adoption and readiness.