Consult with Pinoymed.com

Everything is going online nowadays. From ordering at restaurants or buying your favorite shirt to promoting services, the internet is definitely an avenue to reach out to more clients and customers all over the world. Now get this: instead of waiting for hours at the doctor's office to have your turn with your check up, how aboutan online consultation with your doctor? Or how about ordering your medicines online?

Pinoymed.com, the largest online medical network and health magazine in the country, gives you an interactive health portal where you can learn any information about your illnesses. This also brings on board medical professionals such as nurses, medical organizations and doctor and reputable writers to talk about health issues and concerns through the headline of the website and other comprehensive updates - with subjects ranging from men and women's health, alternative medicines, pet health, medical conditions and other breakthroughs. There are also tips and information on medical-related subjects given by esteemed doctors and members from partner institutions such as the Philippine Red Cross.

The website also provides you with a directory listings of doctors, institutions, hospitals and drugstores. In the near future it will provide you with a list of medicinal plants, and a detailed information of over-the-counter drugs.

On a more mundane note there are also articles on whether photocopying makes you sick or whether seafood is dangerous for you or not.

"Now with Pinoymed.com, we aim to make all medical information legitimate, safe and reliable because we are dealing with health here," says co-founder and COO Harris Guevarra. "We are dealing with lives because we hope to save more Filipinos suffering from illnesses. And that is by providing them with information that is just a click away."

Editor-in-Chief BJ Camaya adds that with Pinoymed.com, ideas can now be easily communicated. "With this website there is a free exhcange of ideas and information about health," he says on the forum section. "There is a doctor who can answer your medical questions right away."

The site already has 2,000 doctors and 3,000 dentists registered.

Soon, Pinoymed.com will have the following features: videos and images where doctors can talk about different minor and major illnesses; the launching of a youtube channel under the theme "Doc Says", drug information, job opportunities for those looking for a job in the medical field, a topic on deaths and how to cope with them, regular contents for doctors, a space for ordinary people who want to share about their illnesses, up-to-date Manny Pacquiao video and training sessions, a newsletter, an awards night for the doctors and a Pinoymed.com foundation.

Pinoymed.com is the brainchild of Harris Guevarra and Peter Ty.

A Smile is Worth a Thousand Words

The popular adage "A smile is worth a thousand words" may be true for some. Unfortunately for kids with a cleft palate and a lip deformity, forming a smile in their mouths is close to impossible; conveying what they need to say - and feel - seems difficult. But with the help of Mr. Roberto Manzano, president of Operation Smile Philippines and Dr. Laurence T. Loh, volunteer doctor for the private and non-profit organization, these smiles are now close to home.

"We are aiming to give back to the children of the country," says Mr. Manzano. "We are giving the gift of a brand new surgery and the gift of smile to 15,000 children."

Dr. Loh agrees, "Life is more meaningful when God-given abilities and the skills you've developed are put into good use. I have a particular sense of advocacy for the kids of Operation Smile because it only takes over 20 minutes to perform a surgery that would change their lives. I intend to give back."

This year marks a milestone for Operation Smile. Now on its 30th year, the organization has been changing lives and healing humanity. Since its inception in 1982, Operation Smile Philippines has done over 24,000 free reconstructive surgeries to underprivileged Filipino children, while Operation Smile International volunteers have provided free reconstructive surgery to over 200,000 children and young adults around the world, and thousands of health care professionals have been trained globally.

For this year Operation Smile Philippines is set to visit eight key cities in the country: Naga, San Fernando in Pampanga, Cagayan de Oro, Silay City in Negros Occidental, Sta. Ana in Manila, Cavite, Cebu and General Santos City. The high incidences of clef palate is in the Bicol region and the Mindanao area.

The cost for the surgery is P100,000 but with Operation Smile's free services, the unit cost for all equipment needed, volunteers transportation fees and others is only P15,000.

With that Operation Smile is indeed more than an advocacy. This is a movement of volunteers wanting to change lives and the community - one smile at a time.