Osmeña to tap IT students for meds program

To help improve Cebu City’s free medical aid operations, Mayor Tomas Osmeña is willing to embark on a partnership with Information Technology (IT) students.

IT students from Cebu Institute of TechnologyUniversity have created an online application dubbed as “Aeon,” which uses a global positioning system (GPS) to verify and keep track of deliveries.

It also has a predictive stock ordering capability to make sure there are enough stocks for beneficiaries. The platform can also be used to gather health data of beneficiaries to evaluate potential health risks.

The mayor said the application can help improve the operation of the city’s Long Life Medical Assistance Program (LLMAP), which involves at least 800 workers delivering the free medicines to the homes of city residents who are suffering from hypertension, diabetes, and arthritis.

To date, the program has over 47,000 beneficiaries. It was launched in July 2016.

LLMAP, a priority program of the Osmeña administration, is currently being monitored by the Barangay Mayor’s Office (BMO) in different villages in the city.

The mayor said Aeon will address the program’s minor glitches.

But the Aeon app is not yet available for download.

The team from CIT-U is among the five teams that will compete in the national finals to be held in Manila on August 18.

Eleven student teams joined the semifinals in Cebu, but only the teams from CIT-U, University of San Carlos (Tactus: Tactile text to Braille glove for the blind), University of San Jose-Recoletos (JUANation), University of the Philippines-Cebu (Cancervive), and CIT-U (Tingog) emerged as winners.

The competition is initiated by a business process outsourcing (BPO).

Osmeña lauded the students for their notable digital innovations.

Also, the mayor said he might hire the students if the Aeon application, for instance, will be successful.

"If they are doing a good job, I'll hire them. Why not?" he said. —

KBQ

Odessa O. Leyson/