Eng. Upali Jayawardena October , 2020
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OPA Journal October , 2020 Act. Editor : Eng. Upali Jayawardena OPA Journal A Publication of the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka October 2020, Volume 36 No 01 Eng. Upali Jayawardena Convener: Dr. (Mrs.)Lalitha Meegoda 275/75, Prof. Stanley Wijesundera Mw., Off Bauddhaloka Mw., Colombo 07 Tel : 011 2580268, 2501721 Email : [email protected] [email protected] Web Site : www.opasrilanka.org Printed by Briliant J. Printers 203/1 Old Kottawa Road, Mirihana, Nugegoda. Telephone : 071 - 3129243 TRUSTEES OF THE OPA Mr. Gerry A. Hidelaratchi President 2000 - 2001 Late. Archt. Plnr. L.T. Kiringoda President 2011 -2012 Served as a Trustee from 01.08.2018 to 31.07.2020 Dr. Hilary W. M. Cooray President 2006-2007 Elected as a Trustee on 01.08.2020 in filling the vacancy Created ypon the resignation of Archt. Plnr. L. T. Kiringoda. Mr.Athauda Jayawardena President 2014 -2015 CONTENTS 01. From the Editor 01 02. The Rise of Digital Healthcare 02 03. Challenges and Opportunities in supply chains in the New Normal 07 04. GMOA Role in Sri Lanka’s National COVID-19 strategy 14 05. On Line Payments - Convenient & Risky? 23 06. Parboiled Rice for a Healthier Life 27 07. Legal Impact on Contact Tracing 33 08. Quotes to ponder - Relevance in the Sri Lanan Context 43 09. Facilities Management Approach From An Industrial Engineer,s View Point 48 10. Orbiting Debris of Planet Earth A Space Environmental Problem 51 11. Port of Galle - First Transshipment Port in Ceylon 56 12. The new Navigation Satellite Systems - GPS on Steroids! 61 13. City Analyst's Laboratory Colombo Municipal Council 65 14. Maritime Services & Domestic Vessel Operations - Call for Regulatory Stop on Foreign Exchange Drain 69 15. Is High Rates of Fine for Alcohol Consumed Drivers Required? Based on Data Drive Decision Making (DDDM) 73 16. Health Practices 81 17. Increasing your life Span is not Rocket Science: A Prescription for Long Life 83 18. The Ancient Hydraulic Civilization of Sri Lanka 91 19. Moving Forward With 'Made i Sri Lanka' Drive: the Importance of Intellectual Property Rights 97 20. The Impact of Technology On Supply Chain Management 106 21. Sri Lanka Medical Association Celebrating 133 Years Serving the nation 114 22. ù f.dú;efkys isß;a úß;a 123 23. Professions of the OPA 138 24. Member Asosciations of the OPA 139 25. Presidents of Member Associations 2019 - 2020 140 OPA Journal FROM THE EDITOR Professionals' Role in a Crisis Eng. Upali Jayawardena A maintenace with stakeholders, clients crisis is any event or period and regulators. Further, professionals that will lead, or may lead, to an have an equally important role to unstable and dangerous situation play in safeguarding organization’s affecting an individual, group or all reputation and public image in of the society as a whole. Crises are managing strategic priorities in a crisis negative changes in the human or methodically. As a leader of a society environmental concerns, especially or any company, it is paramount not when they occur suddenly, with little to take panic decisions as well as or no warning……… too slow decisions since, they will affect negatively in facing challenges Professionals’ involvement in a crisis of a crisis ultimately. To overcome situation is an essential initiative to the challenges created by a crisis, manage and to avoid unnecessary an organization must assess its situations. The best way to manage own vulnerabilities, resistances and a crisis is to avoid any unexpected formulate a customized business and unnecessary problems then and continuity plan. Proper crisis there. communication will preserve people's There is a process of managing a trust in the organization and cut down crisis with four stages: the impact of rumors. Further, avoiding 1. Prodromal (Pre - Crisis) inaccurate conflicting statements and trademark monitoring are essential. 2. Acute (Crisis) Social monitoring too would help 3. Chronic (Clean - up) a leader to manage the situation professionally and appropriately 4. Crisis Resolution (Post Crisis) before anything goes out of control. In a Crisis situation, basically priority It is important to formulate a crisis should be given to protection of human response strategy and to keep all lives. In any crisis, professionals the employees, customers and stake have to look after that aspect along holders in one loop throughout the with the psychological, social and crisis managing process. In our history financial stability of the country. It is from ancient times to date, we faced important to anticipate a crisis and different types of crisis However, wise take precautionary measures. A decisions, corrective measures in professional response, based on a facing challenges with confidence and carefully crafted crisis management a positive attitude were the points we plan, can significantly reduce the as professionals have maintained in a impact of a crisis. timely manner and were the reasons An important factor to include in a for winning situation and which helped crisis situation consist of relationship establish a resilient nation. 01 OPA Journal THE RISE OF DIGITAL HEALTHCARE Dr. Gumindu Kulatunga [MBBS, PG Cert.Med Ed, Dip. Occu.Health, MSc (BMI), MD (Health Informatics)] COVID-19 and Digital health general public on social distancing, avoid unnecessary hospital visits The COVID-19 has done a and use technological methods to paradigm shift in the delivery receive health care. After that, the of healthcare and have made majority of Health care consumers healthcare professionals and dramatically changed their patterns patients to retrace their ways of of traditional health care services thinking on Digital health. Attitudes usage with many avoiding face- towards digital health have face health care and by embracing changed all over the world when online health services [1]. health care officials advised the These digital health reforms care services from traditional originate not only due to a matter methods. This transformation also of advancement in technology, but empowered the patient as well as due to cultural changes in attitudes the physician and fundamentally [2], [3]. Therefore, this digital health reshaped the physician-patient embracement can be considered relationship and treatment a cultural transformation of health circumstances [4]. 02 OPA Journal What is eHealth and Digital Health? The World Health Organization (WHO) defines ‘eHealth’ as the use of internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) for health-related activities. The term ‘Digital Health’ of internet and other information is used for ‘digital technologies in and communication technologies health’ as well as for devices that (ICT) for health-related activities. process and use ‘digital’ information The term ‘Digital Health’ is used for to achieve Health [5]. ‘digital technologies in health’ as Commonly used current digital well as for devices that process and health applications for patient use ‘digital’ information to achieve management include the use of Health [5]. Telemedicine to deliver healthcare Commonly used current digital to homes without physical contact, health applications for patient production of medical equipment management include the use of through 3-D printing, using Telemedicine to deliver healthcare smartphones for follow-up as well to homes without physical contact, as contact tracing, virtual reality production of medical equipment programmes to train healthcare staff, use of Artificial Intelligence through 3-D printing, using (AI) to detect outbreaks and smartphones for follow-up as well enhance radiological diagnosis. as contact tracing, virtual reality programmes to train healthcare Why Digital Health is important? staff, use of Artificial Intelligence The World Health Organization (AI) to detect outbreaks and (WHO) defines ‘eHealth’ as the use enhance radiological diagnosis. 03 OPA Journal utilizing the ever-expanding t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n network overcoming social, geographic, time and economic barriers. Due to the importance of these factors, at the 71st world health assembly 2018, member states agreed on a ‘Digital Health’ Resolution Why Digital Health is important? (WHA71.7) [7]. Digital technologies offer unlimited Components of Digital Health possibilities in health, starting system from improving personal fitness Digital health include hardware, to building island-wide stronger software solutions and services health systems. Practically, these related to the delivery of healthcare. technological applications are used Some of them are; eHealth, in the healthcare sector to enhance self-tracking, health promotion, access, efficacy, efficiency and electronic medical records, quality of clinical and organizational e-prescriptions, Telehealth, procedures used by healthcare public health surveillance, organisations, professionals, Health Information technology, patients and customers to enhance interoperability of the systems, patient health status [6]. Health and wellbeing Applications, Digital Health can be considered as mechanisms to maintain the privacy an important factor in accelerating of health, mobile health, internet of the process of achieving universal things, wireless sensors, health health coverage speciality in low analytics, personalized medicine to middle-income countries. Digital and genomics, big data analysis, health interventions are expected cloud computing and social to cut down healthcare costs, networking. enhance patient safety as well as And all these sectors are improve the