Healthcare and Human Welfare Systems Thread 2 [Archive]

kiretoce

August 19th, 2009, 09:40 PM

Philhealth on the brink (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/216656/philhealth-brink)

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is in danger of going bankrupt in the next seven years unless the government pays the P19.2 billion arrears it owes the agency.

Sen. Loren Legarda made this assessment Wednesday after a hearing on the measure calling for mandatory universal health care coverage pending at the Senate committee on health and demography.

Legarda, who chairs the committee, said Philhealth officials themselves disclosed that the country’s health care institution is in danger of insolvency because of unpaid debts by the Department of Budget and Management to the company since 2001.

Philhealth Vice President and Deputy Chief Actuary Nerissa Santiago pointed out to the committee that the multi-billion debt of the government could affect its delivery of services to some 17 million current Philhealth members by 2016.

Legarda slammed the DBM for failing to pay its obligations of nearly R20 billion. Officials of the DBM were a no-show during the hearing.

“Papaano na iyong 17 million Filipinos na umaasa sa Philhealth para sa kanilang pangangailangan sa kalusugan? Kaya dapat talaga tingnan ng husto ang operations ng Philhealth at bayaran ng national government sa pamamagitan ng DBM ang utang na halos R20 billion sa Philhealth mula 2001,” Legarda said after the hearing.

Santiago said that based on their study, the life fund of Philhealth could shrink in the next seven to ten years if the DBM debt remains unresolved.

“Regarding the resource and the life of the fund, based on our study as of 2008…without increasing the contribution rate…and considering the projections based on what we perceived would be the membership for the next 10 years or so, the life of the fund is only until 2016,” Santiago told the committee.

During the hearing, it was also learned that some politicians are using Philhealth cards to advance their electoral plans but the cards themselves are already expired.

Legarda vowed to look into the matter, saying that while there is nothing wrong for politicians to allot their countrywide development funds (CDF) or “pork barrel” to Philhealth premiums, it must not be used for politicking.

“I want to know what comprises the P19.2 billion that could cause the bankruptcy of PhilHealth,” Legarda said.

“I also want to know who were those who got an ‘overnight’ concern with Philhealth at meron mga litrato sa mga PhilHealth cards, tapos expired palang ipinamimigay,” she stressed.

TeslaCoil

August 19th, 2009, 10:03 PM

^^ Calling juan_pilgrim!!! They want you back here :lol:

We pay monthly PhilHealth fee. How come this happened?

Juan Pilgrim

August 19th, 2009, 10:50 PM

Indonesia's healthcare system failing millions
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Indonesia's health system is failing to provide even the most basic care to vast swathes of the population, say specialists.

Many who cannot afford doctors' fees often receive no treatment at all, while the wealthy fly abroad for a check-up.

The system is plagued by under-funding, decentralization, lack of qualified staff, rising medical costs and outdated medical equipment, say insiders... http://www.speroforum.com/a/20068/Indonesias-healthcare-system-failing-millions

Learning from Thailand’s health reforms
Adrian Towse, Anne Mills, Viroj Tangcharoensathien

Providing all of Thailand’s population with subsidised health care required radical changes in thehealth system

Thailand took a “big bang” approach to introducing
universal access to subsidised health care. In 2001, after
years of debate1–3 and slow progress,4 5 it extended coverage
to 18.5 million people who were previously
uninsured (out of a population of 62 million). This move
was combined with a radical shift in funding away from
major urban hospitals in order to build up primary care.
Such an approach has merits but also risks. We discuss
the implementation and some of the problems.

Summary points
Thailand combined the introduction of universal access to subsidised
health care with a radical shift in funding away from urban hospitals
to primary care

Implementation was facilitated by strong political imperative and
previous experience from existing health schemes

Redirection of funds to primary care left many hospitals with large
deficits

Staff need to be redeployed to primary care units, which are still
underdeveloped

Patients are used to accessing care from hospitals and choosing their
provider

Confidence in primary care needs building, and the scheme may
have to be modified to permit more choice and raise more funding
www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/328/7431/103

I think Philippines should make reforms and be more like the Thai model in order to provide healthcare to all Filipinos!

:horse:

tonight

August 21st, 2009, 05:02 AM

Department of Health eyes price cuts on more drugs (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=497904&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
By Sheila Crisostomo

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) is planning to implement a price cut on more drugs under the new Cheaper Medicine Law.

National Drug Program chief Dr. Roberto So said they are planning to add in the list more types of medicine most prescribed, namely those for hypertension, asthma, breast cancer and insulin for diabetics.

So said the drugs have been offered for voluntary price reduction by drug manufacturers under Republic Act 9502, or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act, but the DOH did not automatically accept the offer.

“We are still studying it. We have to validate the prevailing market prices here and the prices abroad. We want to know the (level of) competition. There are many indicators that we are looking into,” So said.

According to So, the government does not want to impose the maximum drug retail price (MDRP) or the mandatory 50-percent price cut as much as possible.

He said the government would much prefer that drug manufacturers lower the prices of their medicine.

“It is really better if they just volunteer. It’s more of a win-win situation for both parties… we know that it will help promote competition in the Philippines, and benefit the public,” So added.

The DOH earlier recommended the inclusion of 21 most prescribed medicine under the MDRP.

The pharmaceutical companies initially volunteered to lower the prices of 16 drugs, and eventually volunteered to reduce the prices of 22 drugs most commonly prescribed.

Drug companies are faced with the dilemma of lowering the prices of their medicine voluntarily or suffer penalties under the Consumers Act that could also mean the revocation of their business permits and licenses.

Under the MDRP, drug companies are faced with a bigger challenge as a violation could mean an administrative penalty of P50,000 to P5 million.

The offense can also be constituted as “illegal price manipulation” which is punishable by a jail term of up to 15 years or a fine of not less than P100,000 but not more than P10 million or revocation of license to operate.

Drug firms and stores in other parts of the country have started to comply with the requirements of MDRP.

DOH food and drugs regional supervisor Renato Padilla said their monitoring of the various chain of drugstores and hospitals in Dagupan City in Pangasinan; Laoag City, Batac and Vigan in the Ilocos provinces showed they complied with the requirements of the MDRP.

Padilla said big drugstores have reduced by 50 percent the prices of 16 generic drugs available in the region.

c6josh

August 22nd, 2009, 03:37 AM

MPIC plans to acquire up to 10 more hospitals next 3 years
By JAMES A. LOYOLA
August 21, 2009, 6:12pm

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation is planning to acquire five to ten more hospitals in the next two to three years at a cost of P2.5 billion to P7 billion to expand the capacity of its healthcare business to 3,000 beds from the current 1,000.

In a press briefing in Hong Kong, MPIC executive director and hospital division head Augusto Palisoc Jr. said they are looking at hospitals in major cities in the provinces as possible targets for acquisition.

Palisoc said they expect to be investing about P500 million to P700 million to acquire one hospital.

He explained that this aggressive expansion plans are in line with MPIC’s goal of becoming a significant player in the healthcare business by owning the largest hospital group in the country.

Palisoc said it is their intention to acquire existing hospitals instead of building their own since it will take about two to three years to get a new hospital established and earning profits while buying an existing hospital will immediately provide a steady cash flow.

Aside from investments for new acquisitions, MPIC is spending some P2 billion from now until 2012 for its healthcare business to upgrade equipment, add doctors’ offices and rehabilitate rooms.

c6josh

August 22nd, 2009, 03:39 AM

we need more investments like this, Philippines lack the total number of hospital beds this will be beneficial to the rest of the country's health services.

c6josh

August 22nd, 2009, 03:41 AM

ruralvillage

August 22nd, 2009, 03:53 AM

MPIC plans to acquire up to 10 more hospitals next 3 years (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/216992/mpic-acquire-10-more-hospitals)
By JAMES A. LOYOLA Manila Bulletin (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/216992/mpic-acquire-10-more-hospitals)
August 21, 2009, 6:12pm

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation is planning to acquire five to ten more hospitals in the next two to three years at a cost of P2.5 billion to P7 billion to expand the capacity of its healthcare business to 3,000 beds from the current 1,000.

In a press briefing in Hong Kong, MPIC executive director and hospital division head Augusto Palisoc Jr. said they are looking at hospitals in major cities in the provinces as possible targets for acquisition.

Palisoc said they expect to be investing about P500 million to P700 million to acquire one hospital.

He explained that this aggressive expansion plans are in line with MPIC’s goal of becoming a significant player in the healthcare business by owning the largest hospital group in the country.

Palisoc said it is their intention to acquire existing hospitals instead of building their own since it will take about two to three years to get a new hospital established and earning profits while buying an existing hospital will immediately provide a steady cash flow.

Aside from investments for new acquisitions, MPIC is spending some P2 billion from now until 2012 for its healthcare business to upgrade equipment, add doctors’ offices and rehabilitate rooms.

Muffstar

August 22nd, 2009, 08:34 AM

It's about time that the Philippines lower the cost of medicine, the law was passed but it took a while to implement this ...in time for the election.:ohno:

Yeah agree, we had to get some prescriptions made up when we last visited and I could not believe how expensive it was. It was very similar to Australian costs, so I don't know how a lot of people could afford them. My sister in law is a doctor in Makati and she was complaining.

c6josh

August 27th, 2009, 04:55 PM

DoH cracks down on erring drugstores
By JENNY F. MANONGDO
August 27, 2009, 6:56pm

The Department of Health (DoH) issued a cease and desist order (CDO) on Thursday to four drugstores that were found violating the mandated price control scheme on selected essential drugs whose implementation began last August 15.

Among those that received the cease and desist order are Stardust Drug and Medical Supplies Corporation, Cheer Up Drugstore, and Sunburst Corporation, all in Sta. Cruz, Manila, and Southstar Drug in Diliman, Quezon City.

The order was served personally by Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III after inspecting the compliance of the drugstores in implementing the reduced drug prices under the Government Mediated Access or the voluntary price control scheme and the Maximum Drug Retail Price (MDRP) as stipulated under EO 821.

Drugstores with a computerized pricing system were ordered to comply by August 15 while smaller pharmacies especially those in far-flung places with a manual pricing and stockpiling system were given until September 15 to comply with the order.

Five essential drugs have been placed under the MDRP. These include anti-neoplastics or anti-cancer, anti-hypertensives, anti-cholesterol, and antibiotic drugs.

Meanwhile, the 16 medicines that fall under the voluntary price reduction scheme are Telmisartan and Irbesartan (anti-hypertensives); Clopidogrel (anti-thrombotic); Gliclazide (Anti-diabetic/Anti-hypoglycemic), Piperacillin + Tazobactam and all its salt form (antibiotic/antibacterial), Methotrexate Sodium and mesna, which are anti-cancer drugs, and Mercaptopurine (anti-neoplastics/anti-cancer) among others.

"We have inspectors going around to check the compliance of drugstores. We have given them 72 hours to explain in writing why they have not reduced their prices," Duque said.

The CDO served to Stardust Drug and Medical Supplies Corporation was based on a report of violation dated August 19 which showed that the drugstore sold the anti-diabetes drug Gliclazide (Diamicron) 80 mg tablet at a retail price of P15.50, which is almost double than the Government Mediated Access Price of P7.50.

Cheer Up Drugstore was found to be selling eight drugs at their old prices including Co-Amoxiclav, Piperacillin, and Flagyl 500 mg.

Meanwhile, Southstar Drugstore in Diliman, Quezon City was found to be selling the anti-hypertensive drug Amlodipine 5mg tablet at P46.25 against its MDRP of P22.85.

Similarly, Sunburst Drug Corporation sold Amlodipine 5mg tablet at P48 and the anti-cholesterol drug Atorvastatine 80mg at P105.50 as opposed to its MDRP of P50.63.

"We issued the cease and desist order to force them to sell the drugs in prices according to MDRP. They cannot sell the drugs at prices higher than the MDRP. This is the law and we have to follow the law," Duque said.

For drugs falling under the MDRP, sanctions will be applied under RA 9502 or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 while sanctions on drugstores that violated medicines that fall under the Government Mediated Access Price will be based upon the Consumer Price Act.

c6josh

August 27th, 2009, 04:59 PM

Yeah agree, we had to get some prescriptions made up when we last visited and I could not believe how expensive it was. It was very similar to Australian costs, so I don't know how a lot of people could afford them. My sister in law is a doctor in Makati and she was complaining.

even my dad's prescription meds are bought from the US by my sister because the price here are more expensive then buying it by volume in the US...this is what you call monopoly.

c6josh

August 28th, 2009, 07:42 AM

RP urged to continue fight for low-cost medicine
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated August 28, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - A Ramon Magsaysay awardee yesterday called on civil society groups in the country to continue advocating and fighting for giving the people low-cost medicine even if lawmakers have already approved the Cheaper Medicine Law.

Krisana Kraisintu, a pharmacologist in Thailand, advised Filipinos to help the government in resisting pressure from multinational drug companies.

“You must have good advocacy groups that would fight with the government (for affordable medicine),” Kraisintu told reporters in a media briefing at the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Manila.

“My solution is that you have to have very strong NGOs (non-government organizations), you must fight with the government, otherwise you cannot do something about this,” Kraisintu said.

Kraisintu, one of this year’s six Ramon Magsaysay awardees, was recognized for “placing pharmaceutical rigor at the service of patients, through her untiring and fearless dedication to producing much-needed generic drugs in Thailand and elsewhere in the developing world.”

The 57-year-old Kraisintu played a pivotal role in Thailand’s success as one of the few countries in the world to have reversed a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic through formulating affordable and alternative medicine.

Kraisintu “sees the huge gap in access to medicine between rich and poor nations as a crime against humanity and a holocaust of the poor.”

“The reason why I was successful in the fight against HIV/AIDS in my own country is not only because of the medicine that I was able to develop but because of the very strong NGOs. People must be strong first,” she said. “These can only be done if civil societies stand up and fight.”

When AIDS became a national epidemic in Thailand, Kraisintu conducted research on antiretroviral drugs despite the lack of government support, skepticism of many colleagues, and lawsuits from drug companies.

In 1995, Kraisintu successfully formulated the generic version of AZT (zidovudine), which treats HIV generally and reduces the risk of mother-to-child transmission.

The medicine was introduced in Thailand at only one-fourth the cost of the branded product. It was the developing world’s first generic antiretroviral drug.

Kraisintu also worked with NGO advocates lobbying for lower consumer prices and weathered major legal battles to produce the second generic ARV drug ddI (didanosine).

She and her team also invented a “cocktail” drug known as GPO-VIR, which is 18 times cheaper than the regimens of multiple pills taken by AIDS patients. GPO currently produces seven types of ARVs with production sufficient to treat 150,000 patients a year in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Last year, President Arroyo signed Republic Act 9502, or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act of 2008, which aims to enhance access to generic drugs.

c6josh

September 4th, 2009, 10:01 AM

Palace to DOH: Monitor A (H1N1) second wave

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/04/2009 2:06 PM

MANILA - President Arroyo on Friday ordered the Department of Health to step up its monitoring of the spread of Influenza A (H1N1) cases in the country amid fears that a second wave of the virus could affect nine million Filipinos.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the President has instructed the DOH to improve its coordination with the World Health Organization as to real-time exchange of information and data on the A (H1N1) virus.

"The President also ordered hastening of the capacitation of the laboratories of government hospitals for more testing in case of epidemics. She also provisioned that government hospitals to be better prepared to manage complicated cases that may be exacerbated by the virus," Remonde told reporters.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said a second wave of A (H1N1) infections in the Philippines could affect one-tenth of the population or about nine million Filipinos, but stressed there are no indications that the virus would worsen.

“So if our population is about 90 million, a second wave of A(H1N1) could affect as many as nine million Filipinos,” Duque told the Philippine Star during a cluster meeting of mayors from Mindanao under the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP).

But Duque said he recently got assurance from a WHO official that there were no indications that the A(H1N1) virus has mutated into a more virulent strain.

Duque noted that dengue fever and even ordinary flu were more fatal than A(H1N1) in the Philippines.

DOH records show 28 people infected with A(H1N1) have died in the country as of August 28. Nearly 5,000 have been infected though more than 96 percent of the cases have fully recovered.
as of 09/04/2009 2:08 PM

c6josh

September 8th, 2009, 08:27 AM

FROM ALL FILIPINO FIRM:
Sugar-free toothpaste, affordable drugs

By Anne Jambora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:09:00 09/07/2009

Filed Under: Consumer Issues, Health

WHEN research discovered that alcohol in mouthwash dries the mouth, and that dryness can in fact cause bad breath, Pascual Laboratories Inc. (Pascuallab) went to work on an effective mouthwash that would be acceptable to Filipinos even without the stinging alcohol.

There was a risk, said Mia Pascual-Cenzon, director for corporate communications and granddaughter of the pharmaceutical company’s founders, that the local market might not be ready for a “radical” change. But, keeping true to the company’s commitment to social awareness, Pascuallab went on to launch the first locally made non-alcohol-based mouthwash.

Thanks to a successful TV ad campaign, the result is now a household-name mouthwash called OraCare.

Now on its 63rd year of operation, Pascuallab was born out of necessity during the aftermath of World War II. There was a demand for medicine but the prices were high, if not prohibitive, for most Filipinos who were rebuilding their lives.

With its first laboratories set up in the family garage, Pascuallab began producing alternative drugs to imported brands that were of equal quality yet more affordable, said Cenzon.

After years of staying as the country’s No. 14 company, Pascuallab is now in the 10th spot. The key to its growth, said Cenzon, is the company’s passion.

“The way we approach our work, the way we choose our product, the way we research what is good for the Filipinos, the way we treat our employees – everything is still based on the moral values established by my grandparents,” she said.

Passion

The theme “Passion for Health, Love for Life” is based on the company’s passion for excellence, moral uprightness, teamwork and social responsibility, said the newly installed Pascuallab president Manolo Escueta.

Take, for instance, the discovery of sugar in most mainstream toothpaste products. Like the alcohol-based mouthwash that keeps consumers in a vicious cycle of gargling mouthwash over and over to mask bad breath made worse by the same mouthwash, a toothpaste with sugar didn’t seem right, too, said Cenzo.

So this year, the company launched the OraCare Toothpaste, a sugar-free toothpaste with aloe vera to moisturize the gums. While priced a bit more compared to mainstream brands, OraCare Toothpaste is still more affordable than its imported counterparts.

“We are a local company that doesn’t pay royalties to a mother company or suppliers. Our cost is not as high and our prices are lower compared to multinational companies. We call this the superior consumer value, which doesn’t mean the lowest price in the market. It simply means we give consumers a better value for their money,” Escueta said.

Poten-Cee, for instance, is not only cheaper than most branded Vitamin C products. It also offers time-release tablets – something more expensive brands don’t have, Cenzon said.

(Time-release element is crucial to Vitamin C tablets, because the body flushes out excess vitamins through fluids such as urine. With time release, the vitamin is released in the system in acceptable amounts throughout the day.)

“We’re hoping that because we’re passionate about health and life, the lives of our employees, ourselves, and the Filipinos will improve. We take this job and our contribution to society very seriously,” Cenzon said.

Natural line

When it launched its very successful asthma and cough product, Ascof, a project made in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Department of Science and Technology, Escueta said they were given the opportunity for product exclusivity. But Pascuallab chairman Dr. Abraham Pascual said it would benefit more people if the formula was shared.

Ascof, said Escueta, was the second fastest-selling product of Pascuallab, growing at 40 percent each year. Ascof is also the front-runner of the company’s “Chemical or Natural” campaign.

The company’s 42-hectare farm in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, called Farm Leoni Agri Corp., is one of only two certified organic farms in the country. A member of the Organic Producers Trade Association of the Philippines, the farm produces the herbs the company uses for its natural line.

“Traditional medicine got a bad rap years ago as slow and ineffective medication. Today, we put the science in this tradition, refine the process through clinical studies so that we can guarantee its efficacy, and seal them in more acceptable forms, such as capsules,” Cenzon said.

Traditional or natural herbs may be making a comeback, but the key here is to also give consumers more choices. Cenzon said consumers could now choose from branded chemical-based medication, generic drugs or natural herbs.

“From the time my grandparents founded the company to my dad’s time, health [has always been] the work we do; it’s the business we’re involved in. Passion is the way we go about this work,” Cenzon said.

c6josh

September 8th, 2009, 08:31 AM

that's something to be proud of, a Filipino company inventing something useful and healthy who says Filipinos are not innovative.

c6josh

September 16th, 2009, 07:29 AM

Hospitals hike fees to recoup losses

By Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:50:00 09/16/2009
MB

Filed Under: Hospitals and Clinics, Medicines

MANILA, Philippines—The president of a group of private hospitals Tuesday said its members had increased fees to recoup losses from 21 commonly used medicines whose prices were cut in half under the government’s drug price regulation scheme.

Dr. Rustico Jimenez, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PrHAP), said member hospitals had jacked up prices of their services because of the government’s maximum drug retail price (MDRP) policy.

“We are affected. Where are we going to get the money to pay salaries for our nurses, our pharmacists? We went to the DoH (Department of Health) but we were told, ‘It’s your lookout,’” Jimenez said in Filipino at a forum on the regulation of drug prices.

Jimenez said a hospital was a different kind of business. “We will be forced to increase our services [fees] whether we like it or not. Otherwise, we’ll be bankrupt and close shop,” he said.

The MDRP policy, which cut in half the prices of 21 kinds of essential medicines that were found to be dominated by expensive brands, went into full implementation Tuesday.

Malacañang’s Executive Order No. 821 imposed the maximum price that drug outlets and hospital pharmacies could sell the medicines because prices did not go down despite the cheaper medicine law’s goal of encouraging parallel importation.

Health secretary incensed

At the forum, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was incensed by Jimenez’s insistence that hospitals would go “bankrupt” because of the MDRP.

Duque said he found it incredulous that hospitals would lose money to the point of bankruptcy because of foregone profits from the 21 medicines, which include over-the-counter drugs for hypertension and high cholesterol.

“If you really stand by your claim that you will go bankrupt because of the 50-percent price reduction, show us your financial statement (FS). I am a health financier. I will go over your FS one by one,” Duque said at the forum arranged by the Philippine College of Physicians in Quezon City.

Profit centers

Duque, who was chair of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) before he became health secretary, pointed out that private hospitals had other “profit centers” aside from their pharmacies.

“You get reimbursed by PhilHealth. PhilHealth increased your OR (operating room) fees but we didn’t hear any thank you. You have board and lodging, OR, professional fees and laboratory fees. You have many profit centers,” the health secretary said.

“Why don’t you give in when it comes to medicines. Why don’t you join our goal in government to make medicines more affordable, so that our people would see that you are with them and that you’re not just concerned with your interest,” Duque said.

Delays in getting rebates

Pharmaceutical companies continued to oppose price regulation, claiming there was already market competition. Drugstores representatives, meanwhile, complained of delays in getting rebates from drug companies.

But it was the PrHAP’s insistence that its members would go bankrupt that got Duque’s goat.

Jimenez defended the practice of hospital pharmacies to sell medicines at higher prices than those found in drugstores.

“I agree it’s more expensive in hospitals. Could you get out of the hospital in the middle of the night to buy your medicine outside? What about the risk you have to take? So we have to be open 24 hours. You explain to me where you’re going to get the money [to sustain this],” Jimenez told a reporter who posed a question about high prices in hospital pharmacies.

Duque did not let Jimenez’s diatribe pass, and spoke out after Jimenez had returned to his seat.

“It’s easy to come up with words and declare that just because we have halved medicine prices, hospitals would immediately lose money. But from what Rustico (Jimenez) is saying, I do not see the clear basis for this,” said Duque, who looked at the audience while Jimenez kept his eyes on his table.

He said it did not follow that because medicine prices went down, the prices of all other hospital services would also go down. “That’s not correct,” he said.

Applause

When Duque said he would challenge the hospitals to open their books, some members of the audience applauded.

Jimenez did not make a response.

Representatives from different stakeholders—drug companies, drugstores, doctors, pharmacists, patients and government attended the forum.

Long-term viability

Dr. Ruben Flores, president of the Philippine Hospital Association (PHAP), took the floor to say that his group was supporting the cheaper medicines law.

But he said PHAP members were concerned about their financial viability in the long run.

“They are in this for business and they have to earn, of course with corporate social responsibility,” said Flores, who is also medical director of the government-run Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital.

Leading revenue source

Flores acknowledged that laboratory fees and pharmacy were the “leading revenue-making centers” in a hospital.

He said certain costs were bundled on top of the cost of the medicine itself and were not reflected in a patient’s bill. “It is not good practice to include medicine administration in board and lodging rates,” he said.

“We want to be transparent and there should be a rationale” in the billing, he added.

Increase in volume

Duque said the initial “setback” for drug companies and outlets could be compensated by increased volume in sales since, theoretically more Filipinos should now be able to afford and complete medication like antibiotics.

“At the end of the day, volume price compensation will make up for the losses. We don’t believe they will lose money. Maybe at first there will be a setback but when the market expands there will be a good effect of all this,” Duque said.

He urged hospitals to change the way they were doing things “because the public has been a victim of the high prices of medicines for a long time.”

A month since the MDRP was first implemented, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has served notice to eight drugstores, most of which are located near hospitals, to explain why they continued to sell medicines at the old prices.

But only one, the South Star Drug branch in Matalino Street in Diliman, Quezon City, was recommended by the FDA to be fined the minimum penalty of P50,000.

The FDA said South Star did not immediately implement the new prices and was found to have sold the antihypertensive drug amlopidine at the higher price on Aug. 15.

c6josh

September 17th, 2009, 09:55 AM

Profit-crazy hospitals claim losses, raise fees
POSTSCRIPT By Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star) Updated September 17, 2009 12:00 AM

BANKRUPT?: It is good that Health Secretary Francisco Duque rapped private hospitals increasing fees to recoup losses from widely used essential medicines whose prices were cut in half under the government’s drug price regulation scheme starting Sept. 15.

Dr. Rustico Jimenez, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, said in a forum Tuesday, “We will be forced to increase our services (fees), otherwise, we’ll be bankrupt and close shop.”

Hearing this, Duque countered that he found it incredible that hospitals would lose money to the point of bankruptcy because of foregone profits from the 21 medicines that include over-the-counter drugs for hypertension and high cholesterol.

“If you really stand by your claim, show us your FS (financial statement),” the secretary said, “I am a health financier. I will go over your FS one by one.” There was some applause in the audience.

* * *

PROFIT CENTERS: Duque reminded private hospital administrators that they had other “profit centers” aside from their pharmacies. (Duque was chair of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. before he became health secretary.)

“You get reimbursed by PhilHealth,” he told them. “PhilHealth increased your OR (operating room) fees but we didn’t hear any thank you. You have board and lodging, OR, professional fees and laboratory fees. You have many profit centers.”

If Postscript may add: Hospitals even charge patients and their families exorbitant fees for parking, and let doctors collect fees without BIR-registered receipts.

Duque continued: “Why don’t you give in when it comes to medicines? Why don’t you join our goal in government to make medicines more affordable, so our people would see that you are with them and that you’re not just concerned with your interest?”

* * *

VOLUME GAINS: Duque urged hospitals to mend their ways, “because the public has been a victim of the high prices of medicines for a long time.”

He said: “It’s easy to come up with words and declare that just because we have halved medicine prices, hospitals would immediately lose money. But from what Rustico (Jimenez) is saying, I do not see the clear basis for this.

“At the end of the day, volume price compensation will make up for the losses. We don’t believe they will lose money. Maybe at first there will be a setback, but when the market expands there will be a good effect of all this.”

c6josh

October 2nd, 2009, 08:17 AM

DOH to drugstores: Observe price law or face P10-M fine
10/01/2009 | 09:07 AM
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Health authorities reminded drugstores Thursday to observe price controls on essential medicines in areas under a state of calamity due to tropical storm "Ondoy" (Ketsana).

The Department of Health (DOH) and Food and Drug Administration (BFAD) said erring drugstores might face administrative sanctions including a fine of P10 million.

"Non-compliance of the law will result in penalty in accordance to relevant laws and rules and regulations including possible administrative fines of P100,000 to P10 million ... This shall remain effective for the duration of the state of calamity, but not more than 60 days," it said in an advisory published in Metro Manila newspapers.

It cited Section 6 of Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, where "prices of essential medicines shall automatically be frozen at their prevailing prices" in a state of calamity.

Because of this, the DOH-FDA ordered the drugstores "NOT to increase prices" for essential medicines above September 25 price rates.

The price freeze covers anti-diarrheals, antibiotics, anti-hypertensives, anti-diabetics, Oral Rehydration Solutions, Intravenous fluids, anti-tetanus seruum, anti-meassles vaccines, multi-vitamins, ferrous sulfate + folic acid for pregnant women and other emergency life-saving medicines listed in the Philippine National Drug Formulary Volume 1. - GMANews.TV

kiretoce

October 24th, 2009, 03:56 AM

Some Pinoy nurses no longer seek US jobs (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/175420/some-pinoy-nurses-no-longer-seek-us-jobs-tucp)

A number of Filipino nurses no longer see the United States as the land of milk and honey.

According to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the number of nurses who indicated their desire to look for US jobs plunged by 21.38 percent in the past nine months this year.

Former Senator and TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera said America has lost some of its allure as a land of greener pasture for foreign nurses and other highly skilled professionals.

A total of 11,854 Filipino nurses took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for the first time from January to September 2009, a decrease of 3,225 compared to the 15,079 that took the test in the same nine-month period in 2008. [See: 15,000 RP nurses want to go to the US yearly - labor leader]

"The confidence of foreign workers in America's economic supremacy has clearly been shaken by the staggering job losses there," Herrera said.
Farm girl tops nursing exam, wishes to work in RP for now
Interview by Mark Merueñas

Wading through thick mud to plant rice required her to muster a considerable amount of physical strength. But for Jovie Ann Alawas Decoyna, maneuvering her way in a bustling medical facility just to attend to patients was way harder.

On Friday noon, all her hard work and the sleepless nights paid off when Decoyna – a native of Bakun town in Benguet who used to juggle school and rice farming – was announced as the topnotcher of the Nursing Licensure Examination given on Nov. 29-30, 2008.

Decoyna, who finished her nursing course at the Baguio Central University (BCU), emerged at the summit of a 39,455-long list of names of the nursing hopefuls who hurdled the exam.

“Sobrang overwhelmed ako. Hindi ko inexpect na makakapasa ako. Pero in-entrust ko lang talaga lahat kay Lord [I was so overwhelmed. I did not expect to even pass. But I just entrusted everything to the Lord]," Decoyna told GMANews.TV in a phone interview from Baguio.

In 2008, a total of 20,746 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time. This was slightly down compared to the 21,299 Filipino nurses that took the test for the first time in 2007.

According to Herrera, only 3,582 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time from July to September 2009, down 1,660 or 31.66 percent compared to the 5,242 that took the test in the same quarter in 2008.

"The continued decline in the number of Filipino nurses seeking to practice their profession in America comes even after the establishment of an NCLEX testing center in Manila, which has made it easier for them to take the examination," Herrera pointed out.

Before the local testing center was established in Manila, Filipino nurses had to travel overseas to take the NCLEX in Hong Kong, Guam or elsewhere, the TUCP said.

Filipinos still account for four out of every 10 foreign nurses seeking to enter the US nursing profession.

According to Herrera, the aggregate remittances of Filipino workers in America, including some 200,000 nurses, fell by $635 million or 11.84 percent to $4.731 billion in the seven months to August this year compared to $5.366 billion over the same period in 2008.

kiretoce

October 24th, 2009, 04:12 AM

Politics depriving Laoag of good medical care (http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20091023-231732/Politics-depriving-Laoag-of-good-medical-care)

What a poor country like the Philippines suffers most from is a lack of good hospitals. Sick persons sometimes have to travel very long distances to get medical help in hospitals. And sometimes the patients do not reach the hospital alive.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office has a program of giving ambulances to local government units. But where would these ambulances take the patients when there are no well-equipped hospitals nearby? They have to take emergency cases two or three provinces away or to faraway Manila. And needless to say, some patients are dead by the time they get there.

So the ambulances are used by the mayor, or his wife or children or house help, to go joyriding or to go marketing or shopping, or to go to Metro Manila.

That is why we see so many ambulances from the provinces running around the metropolis. Sometimes the ambulance is used by the mayor to smuggle drugs.

Many Filipinos are in poor health, or die before their time because there are not enough hospitals to take care of its citizens.

Do you know that patients from the provinces who are suffering from end-stage kidney failure have to travel all the way to Metro Manila to be dialyzed to ensure their survival? Kidney patients will die within weeks or months if they are not hemodialyzed (a process of cleaning the blood of toxins via a machine, a cleansing that the failing kidneys can no longer do). A patient with end-stage kidney failure has to be dialyzed three times a week (at fees ranging from P3,000 to P15,000 per session), so that patients from the provinces have to rent rooms in Metro Manila to stay alive.

So I cannot understand why Gov. Michael Keon and the Ilocos Norte Provincial Board are blocking Laoag Mayor Michael F. Fariñas from upgrading the Laoag City General Hospital (LCGH).

The upgrading of the LCGH has been ongoing since 2002. It is part of Laoag’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), approved by the City Council, reviewed and approved by the provincial board, and approved by the Department of Health. Health Secretary Francisco Duque commended Fariñas for wanting to upgrade the city hospital and provide quality and affordable health services to his constituents.

Laoag had set aside P24 million for the upgrading of the hospital and has secured a P350-million loan from two government banks and an international aid agency. That was during the governorship of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The governor is now Michael Keon, a cousin of Marcos Jr., and he and the provincial board are blocking the improvement of the LCGH.

“Both hospitals will offer the same medical services and facilities,” Keon said in a letter to the Department of Health. “It is important to note that the proposed LCGH is only 10 minutes away by car from the provincial hospital. The proximity of the two hospitals to one another plus the same service and facilities will result in what can only be described as ‘cut-throat’ competition as both compete for the same market share of patients-clientele.”

The provincial board disapproved a resolution of the Laoag City Council giving Fariñas authority to secure loans from government banks. Duque changed his mind about his endorsement of the upgrading of the LCGH and even wrote the Development Bank of the Philippines to discourage it from giving the LCGH a loan.

Why are they doing this? Any other local government official would be happy to have more than one hospital in his territory. In the case of Laoag and Ilocos Norte, patients cannot be accommodated in the present hospitals.

In a letter to Duque in 2008, Fariñas reported: “At present, the Laoag City General Hospital sometimes cannot accommodate patients seeking medical intervention due to lack of space. The situation also holds true with the Governor Roque Ablan Sr. Medical
Hospital (GRASMH) where some patients stay in alleys and corridors, and the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital (MMMH).”

Duque replied that the LCGH should remain a level 2 general 50-bed hospital (not a tertiary hospital) subject to review by the DoH. Again, why are they doing this to Fariñas and the people of Laoag?

The answer can only be petty politics, a case of one-upmanship. Keon doesn’t want Laoag to have a better hospital than the province because of his rivalry with Fariñas. Keon waged a bitter political battle against a close relative of the mayor, former Gov. Rudy Fariñas.

As for the two hospitals being close to each other, Metro Manila has more than a dozen hospitals, public and private, within minutes of one another, and there is still crowding in all of them. In Houston, Texas, there are many hospitals beside one another and the city is famous all over the world for its outstanding feats in medicine, especially in the field of cardiology. It is the home of the Texas Heart Institute and the Baylor Hospital, among the pioneers in heart transplants (my doctor-daughter studied there before getting a fellowship at the Yale Medical Center in Connecticut).

As for the disapproval by the provincial board, the Department of Interior and Local Government said the act “went beyond the perimeters of review set by the Supreme Court.”

“The authority of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) to review the acts of its component municipalities (cities) is limited to reviewing only (1) ordinances or (2) resolutions approving local development plans and public investment programs, per provisions of Sec. 56(a) of the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160).”

Clearly, the governor and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan had no legal authority to disapprove the project.

kiretoce

October 24th, 2009, 04:26 AM

Health-care reform pushed (http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/17634-health-care-reform-pushed.html)

The Philippines should have a socialized healthcare system that encompasses the entire country and not just Metro Manila—as is the case at present—to anticipate the increase in the number of the poor, with the worsening domestic economic situation as impacted by the global economic health.

This proposal was advanced by University of the Philippines economist Dr. Benjamin Diokno, who said the existing conditional cash transfer (CCT) program would probably be not enough, since the Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is concentrated in Metro Manila, a bias that considerably limits the program.

“The next administration should find better ways to spend money. The CCTs should be spent better. Socialized or universal health care could be funded by cutting graft,” said Diokno.

He said the 4Ps only reach the urban poor in Metro Manila and some rural poor living in nearby provinces. “This hardly puts a dent on the healthcare needs of the country since Filipinos living in Luzon make up 66 percent of the country’s gross domestic product [GDP].”

Diokno, a former budget secretary, said the high cost of food, which makes up around 61 percent of the total expenses of the poorest of the poor or those earning P40,000 per year, leaves them with hardly any money for anything else.

“Assistance to the poor should be unbiased. The poor are everywhere—in urban slums and rural hinterlands. In fact, there is higher and more intense poverty in the countryside than in Metro Manila. Inflation is higher in areas outside Metro Manila....Thus, the government’s subsidy program that favors NCR residents should be revisited.”

He said the next president can turn to universal health care also as a means for the Philippines to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), four of which are on health—eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, and better efforts against dread diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Data from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific show the Philippines lags behind its Asean neighbors in reducing child mortality.

In 2006, there were 24 child deaths for every 1,000 Philippine births while Thailand recorded only seven child deaths for every 1,000 births. Indonesia had a worse record, with 26 child deaths for every 1,000 births.

The Philippines also lagged behind many of its Asean neighbors in under-5 mortality, with 32 deaths for every 1,000 of that age group.

Even in the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel, the Philippines is among the lowest in the region, with only around 73 percent of all births attended by skilled personnel in 2007.

Animo

December 6th, 2009, 07:19 PM

By DWIGHT SARGA (http://www.malaya.com.ph/12072009/busi5.html)

The Spanish government has given the Philippines a $3.5-million grant for a three-year anti-hunger and malnutrition project that would be undertaken by the government and United Nations agencies.

The fund would be used to finance the joint program "Ensuring food security and nutrition for children 0-2 years old in the Philippines".

Beneficiaries would be children 0-5 years old, breast-feeding mothers and pregnant women in Naga City and Pasacao in Camarines Sur, Carles and Iloilo City in Iloilo, and Zamboanga City and Aurora in Zamboanga del Sur.

To be implemented starting 2010, the program aims to increase exclusive breast feeding rates in the said areas by 20 percent annually, reduce the prevalence of undernutrition by 3 percent in 2011 and improve the capacities of national and local government units and stakeholders to promote and implement policies and programs on Infant and Young Child Feeding.

It would develop "model breastfeeding communities to encourage working and non-working mothers to breastfeed their children, instead of relying to breast milk substitutes.

davaob4now

December 12th, 2009, 03:45 PM

Nurses: Number 1 in Gallup's annual Honesty and Ethics of Professions poll
Honesty and Ethics Poll Finds Congress’ Image Tarnished (http://www.gallup.com/poll/124625/Honesty-Ethics-Poll-Finds-Congress-Image-Tarnished.aspx)

:):):)
by the way kahit na sa america itong survey nato included ang thousands of filipino nurses and nurse practitioners sa survey who are working in the USA..:okay:

kiretoce

January 19th, 2010, 04:11 AM

A tale of two hospitals (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/views-and-analysis/01/18/10/tale-two-hospitals-leonor-magtolis-briones)

Yesterday, newspapers reported the inauguration of a P6.5 billion hospital which no less than the president described as a “quantum leap in medical care.” It boasts of “state-of-the-art medical equipment “ as well as “hotel-like facilities.” Mention was made of the P50,000 a day presidential suite and its luxurious amenities.

The president remarked that this hospital is better than 95% of the hospitals in America and better than 99% of the hospitals in the Philippines. The vice-president quipped that the “hospital charges are also state-of-the-art.”

It is good to have a hospital in the country which can match the best in the world.

Yesterday at 3 a.m. 17 year-old Jepoy was stabbed twice while he was taking a leak outside his house in Antipolo. Another boy brought him in a tricycle to a private medical center, also in Antipolo. He was bleeding profusely. He was refused admission. Still bleeding, he was brought to the provincial hospital. Again, he was refused admission because he needed an operation and they had a long line of patients to be operated on. Finally, he was brought to a government hospital in Quezon City. He vomited blood profusely at the Admissions Desk and in the operating room. By the time he was operated on, he had already lost too much blood. By half past noon, he was already dead.

Jepoy’s father drives a jeep while his mother is a vendor in the public market. As the eldest boy, he was the focus of his parents’ dreams and was just a first year college student. When I saw the mother sitting by her dead son’s body, she cried, “Why did the private hospital not accept him? Why did the second hospital refuse him? Why didn’t they send him in an ambulance to the last hospital? “

For once, I could not say a word. Would it have soothed the mother if I told her private hospitals routinely refuse admission to emergency victims like her son? Would she have been comforted if I told her ambulances are not entitlements but have to be paid for? Would she have felt better if I told her deaths like that of her son occur all the time and don’t even merit a line in our newspapers?

While waiting for the funeral parlor attendants to pick up her dead child in a small, stuffy “waiting area,” I watched as the mother repeatedly kissed her son and talked to him tenderly.

When the attendants removed the blood-soaked sheet and transferred him to the funeral stretcher, she tearfully begged, “Please be gentle. Slowly please!” As his body was lifted I saw the pool of fresh blood left on the hospital stretcher. He was still bleeding even as he lay dead.

A top-of-the line medical facility was recently inaugurated for those who can afford expensive and luxurious health care. On the same day, the child of a market vendor and a jeepney driver bled to death in a government hospital with insufficient emergency equipment.

It is good to have a hospital which can compete with the best hospitals in America. It is good to have a hospitals with suites worthy of presidents, potentates and magnates. It is good to have a hospital which will take care of expatriates and promote medical tourism.

However, it is just as good if we will also have public hospitals equipped to save lives in emergency situations. It will even be better if we will have a hospital system where patients don’t have to be refused and young lives lost for want of timely medical assistance.

Animo

January 27th, 2010, 04:47 PM

by Danny Escabarte (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p100127.htm&no=34)

Butuan City (27 January) -- Pregnant women and children needing medical attention don't need to travel far to Butuan City now. Assorted medical equipment purchased through assistance from Spanish aid agency Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarollo (AECID) has just been delivered to Carmen Rural Health Unit to be used by personnel in serving poor families in the municipality.

Implemented by Fundacion Humanismo Y Democracia (H+D) in partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and local government unit, the initiative seeks to improve access to maternal and child healthcare (MCH) services which is one of the problem affecting families in the province.
"Poor patients have to shell out hard earned money to go to Butuan City more than 30 kilometers away to avail needed medical attention," Dr. Bonifacion Wong Marcon disclosed. "With this medical equipment, we can now serve our constituents better," he added.

Carmen Mayor Ramon Calo expressed elation with the assorted equipment provided to them. "We will compliment the generosity of AECID and the Spanish People. We will ensure that budget for health is included in our priorities," Mayor Calo said.

The medical equipment includes emergency lights, sterilizer, adjustable beds with bed sheets, assorted forceps, BP apparatuses, gooseneck lamps, I.V. stand, suction machines, surgical scissors, wheelchairs, flashlights, weighing scales, thermometers, boxes of disposable syringes and needles, bassinet newborn carriers among others.

Carmen Town in Agusan del Norte is a fourth class municipality with most of its basic services for the people is being funded by the internal revenue allotment (IRA) from the national government. Fishing and farming are main source of livelihood.

Most of the deliveries of pregnant mothers are done at home; it was learned from health personnel interviewed at the Rural Health Unit in Carmen. "It is costly to avail medical services in the city, so most of them decide to give birth at home," Dr. Marcon disclosed. "The medical equipment complimented with budgetary support from the local government unit will facilitate easy access to needed health services for the people," he added.

The health initiative in Carmen is only part of a bigger undertaking by AECID to assist children and families gain access to basic services. Parallel to the health-related project, the Spanish aid agency is also engaged in education-focused project for school children in Agusan del Norte.

Included in the assistance package are also upgrading of RHUs, training and mobilization of Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), construction of lying-in clinics among others. At least seven municipalities in the province will be benefited by the project. These are the towns of Carmen, Buenavista, Remedios T. Romualdez, Nasipit, Magallanes, Tubay and Cabadbaran. (PBSP-Mindanao)

kiretoce

February 6th, 2010, 01:36 AM

Smoking ban in government premises cited by DoH (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/242132/smoking-ban-gov-t-premises-cited-doh)

A day after announcing that smoking highly increases the risk of developing lung cancer, Health Secretary Esperanza I. Cabral warned government employees and people transacting with government agencies to strictly adhere to the no-smoking rule in government premises or face disciplinary action as stipulated under the Civil Service Commission’s Memorandum Circular No. 17, series of 2009.

“In places providing services relating to health and youth activity, such as hospitals, health centers, schools, universities and colleges, smoking is absolutely prohibited and ‘smoking areas’ are not allowed,” she said.

The other day, Cabral called a conference and emphasized that one of the ways to avoid lung cancer is to stop smoking.

“Except for places where smoking is absolutely prohibited, smoking is allowed only in designated and marked outdoor smoking areas that are located in an open-space with no permanent or temporary roof or walls and 10 meters away from entrances, exits or any place where people pass or congregate. Smoking Area signages must also be highly visible and prominently displayed," she added.

Cabral warned that complaints filed against anyone who is smoking will be investigated and will be meted with disciplinary action.

Last January 6, the CSC issued the memo announcing a 100 percent smoke-free policy and smoking prohibition in all areas of government premises, buildings and grounds except those areas that have been designated as smoking areas.

“The policy not only encourages people to quit smoking but also seeks to protect people from exposure to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke, as shown in recent studies, can be harmful to people's health, even small amounts of it. It causes lung cancer, increases the risk of a heart attack, triggers asthma, and causes acute respiratory effects,” the CSC memo said.

The health chief is particularly concerned with the spread of second-hand smoke which increases the risk for heart disease by 50 percent.

Health experts agree that constant exposure to second-hand smoke doubles the risk of heart attack and persons also become 25 percent more susceptible to lung cancer.

“The effects of second-hand smoke on lung function are similar to smoking a few sticks a day. It can cause emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma attacks,” Cabral said.

In the last quarter of 2009, the DoH commissioned a Social Weather Station Survey on Smoking under the Bloomberg Initiative-Philippines OC-400 Project.

The survey found that some 28 percent of Filipinos are current smokers. The percentage of smokers in rural areas is higher at 28 percent while in urban areas it is 27 percent.

The study also revealed that more smokers belong to the Class E at 31 percent followed by Class D at 26 percent and Class ABC with only 21 percent.

Males were also found to smoke more than females at 46 percent versus the 8 percent rate on females.

Most smokers, or 30 percent of the respondents who smoke, belong to the 35 to 44 years old age bracket, followed by the 18 to 24 years old at 26 percent, while 22 percent are aged 55 years and up.

The DoH survey also found that those with a higher educational attainment tend to smoke less than those with no formal education.

By educational attainment, only 20 percent of those who completed college education smoke, while up to 32 percent of those with no formal education smoke.

jpdm

February 9th, 2010, 05:46 AM

kiretoce

February 9th, 2010, 10:01 AM

^^ In tough economic times, the healthcare industry thrives. There are more unemployed Americans going back to school to be trained as healthcare professionals, which then fills the immediate needs of the hospitals to fill vacant positions. Thus, shutting out the aspiring foreign healthcare worker seeking to land a job here in the US.

hakz2007

February 25th, 2010, 12:38 PM

Palace urges consultations on DOH's planned policy changes (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&nid=7&rid=260984)
By Catherine J. Teves

MANILA, Feb. 25 (PNA) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her Cabinet are open to studying public health policy changes of the Department of Health (DOH) with the objective of curbing further spread of the deadly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the still-incurable acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) it causes.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Ricardo Saludo gave this assurance as DOH Sec. Esperanza Cabral supported the use of condoms to help address the country's HIV-AIDS problem.

"DOH can study if this is aligned with government's policy and if it's not, such matter can be brought to the President and her Cabinet," he said Thursday during a Palace briefing.

He said consultation is due since Cabinet members are alter egos of the President and they carry out her policies.

Saludo also noted the matter must be studied because government is promoting natural family planning while condoms are among artificial devices for preventing unwanted pregnancy.

Condoms are likewise used to promote safe sex.

Cabral is supporting condom use since HIV-AIDS is associated with unsafe or unprotected sex and with risky behavior.

Such behavior includes having multiple sexual partners and sharing needles for injecting drugs.

The country's Catholic bishops are fuming mad over Cabral's support for condom use.

They want her sacked from the Cabinet.

Still, Malacanang is steering clear of the row over condom use.

Malacanang is instead urging people to evaluate the matter based on facts.

"One fact is the Church continues promoting sex within marriage - that means having only one lifetime partner," Saludo said.

He also said studies show faster spread of HIV-AIDS in a country where condom use is widespread.

"Condom use might even create the impression that high-risk sex is safe," he added. (PNA)

hakz2007

February 28th, 2010, 09:45 AM

Bottled water may be unsafe- DOH (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&nid=7&rid=261294)

ILOILO CITY, Feb. 27 (PNA)- The Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas has cautioned the public against the proliferation of bottled water, or commonly known as mineral water on fears that it might be hazardous to health.

Dr. Jessie Glen Alonsabe, DOH Region 6 epidemiologist, said unscrupulous businessmen may take advantage of the torrid heat being generated by the El Nino phenomenon by turning out cheap and substandard drinking water.

Anxiety over verified reports that low water reserves across the country may not be enough to supply a thirsty population owing to a virtually zero rainfall in the coming months is driving nervous citizens to buy bottled water but which the doctor said could be contaminated and unfit for drinking.

The Epidemiologist instead suggested to ''go back to the basics'' by boiling tap and deep well water as heat efficiently destroys harmful microbes.

In a related development, Alonsabe warned that an average of two heatstroke cases in Iloilo has been observed by the DOH.

He said that because of prevailing harsh weather conditions, there has been a surge in heatstroke, sunburns, and red tide. Alonsabe advised the public to shun the sun from 10 o'clock in the morning to 2 o'clock in the afternoon to avoid acquiring sunburn, which is characterized by reddening and blistering with consequent peeling of the skin.

Alonsabe clarified that although heatstroke is not among the top 10 killer diseases in the country, it is still potentially dangerous as it can maim, or even kill humans.

He said that a proven remedy against heatstroke is by taking plenty of water to keep dehydration at bay. (PNA)

the glimpser

March 2nd, 2010, 09:29 AM

An investment that may save your child’s life
By Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net

It is an investment similar to bonds, stocks, and savings. But unlike them, this investment can save the life of your child or other members of your family against diseases that are life-threatening.

This is what CordLife Medical Philippines Inc. is hoping to provide by establishing the first cord blood bank facility in the Philippines.

“Our investment here is the accumulation of our global technical experience and scientific understanding which we want to bring the people of the Philippines,” said CordLife chief executive officer Steven Fang in his speech last February 23 at the inauguration of the facility at the University of the Philippines –Ayala Land Technohub in Quezon City.

The CordLife cord blood bank facility has state-of-the-art technology of Sepax® which utilizes fully-automated sterile and precise cell processing system which has a recovery rate of up to 96 percent, said Fang.

Doctor Cherie Daly, head of the Group Medical Affairs of CordLife Ltd. based in Singapore, said the center here would provide services like cord blood cell extraction and cryogenic preservation.

Daly said the process involved getting stem cells mainly from the umbilical cord of a new born baby.

“The stem cells from the umbilical cord are the most primitive and earliest stem cells that we can get and we can store these stem cells at –196 degrees Celsius. When the stem cells are in the state of non-aging because they are frozen in time, we can be assured of stem cells that are the youngest and have the most promise when being used one day for the patient,” Daly said.

“Stem cells are the basic building blocks of all our tissues... Stem cells’ natural capability is to help in the area where tissues are damaged or destroyed, these stem cells go to the area and help build and repair our tissues,” Daly said.

Daly said cord blood stem cells have been proven to aid in treating over 80 types of diseases, including certain types of cancers and other blood related disorders like leukemia and lymphoma.

She said that there have been positive results in tests on stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy and type 1 diabetes.

Daly said that cord blood cells from your baby could also be used to treat other family members, with 75 percent chance of a match with siblings and up to 50 percent match with parents.

“Tests have shown that stem cell transplant using cells from a family member has doubled the survival rate [of the patient] as compared to when it comes from an unrelated donor,” Daly said.

“We believe that with sufficient clinical evidence of successful therapies, more medical options may be available to families who have stored their children’s cord blood,” Fang said.

There are other methods of extracting stem cells like drawing blood from an adult's bone marrow which is an invasive procedure and has medical risks and through the controversial embryonic stem cell extraction, which poses moral and ethical issues because the process requires aborting the newly formed embryo, Daly said.

For comedienne Giselle Sanchez, a second-time mother, CordLife is “an investment, just like bonds, stocks and saving. The difference is no matter how much interest you get in bonds and portfolio savings, you can't save your child's life or your loved one's should he/ she be stricken with a life-threatening disease, God forbid."

Sanchez, who spoke at the inauguration, disclosed that she had both her children’s cord blood stored at the flagship facility in Singapore.

Established in 2001, CordLife adheres to quality standards of the American Association of Blood Banks, the International Organization for Standardization and Therapeutic Goods Administration, among others.

The Philippine outlet is the company's seventh facility worldwide with branches at Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Netherlands, and India.

To avail of CordLife’s services, a P40,000 enrolment fee is required. This will include cord blood collection, procedural fee, processing, infectious disease tests and transport of the collected blood within Metro Manila.

An annual fee of P8,000 is also required for the maintenance of the cord blood unit.

For more inquiries, you can call 09178878611 or visit CordLife Phils. at Unit 101 Building H, UP-AyalaLand Technohub.

hakz2007

March 2nd, 2010, 09:49 AM

Canadian knee implant developer to locate operations in Philippines (http://positivenewsmedia.net/am2/publish/Business_19/Canadian_knee_implant_developer.shtml)

Toronto, ON March 2 --- BMT Medical Technology, Inc., a Canadian R&D company located in Toronto that designs, manufactures and tests orthopaedic implants for humans, wishes to locate its manufacturing operation to the Philippines. This announcement was recently made by the company’s President, James Bateman, to Ambassador Jose Brillantes in Ottawa, who has expressed support for the plan.

“The Philippine Embassy is greatly interested in seeing this project realized in the Philippines,” Ambassador Brillantes told Bateman. “The vision of setting up a privately-owned orthopaedic rehabilitation facility dedicated to knee and other joint replacement, perhaps in cooperation with the National Orthopedic Hospital is a desirable one.” The Ambassador added, ”I believe it is a project the Philippine Government will assist purposefully”.

According to Bateman the manufacturing, quality control, sterile packaging, training, distribution and Surgical Trial efforts will be moved from BMT’s Toronto facilities to Manila. “BMT sees this as a major opportunity for the Philippines’ Medical Tourism Program and the orthopaedic and medical communities,” he added.

NEW IMPLANT DESIGN:

The radical and newly designed BMT Knee Replacement Implant outdates many older-designed implants and it is anticipated it will cause a dynamic and positive shift in the success rates of Total Knee Replacement (KTR) surgeries and thereby dramatically increase Patients’ Quality of Life.

Recent computerized design and manufacturing capabilities, linked with modern materials, make the BMT Implant Project a major opportunity for Filipino firms wishing to enter into the highly skilled and potentially profitable Medical Implant Manufacturing and Distribution markets.

PHILIPPINE CORPORATE INVESTMENT:

BMT is seeking to form a Joint Venture Philippine-based company with investors in both the Philippine medical and investment sectors. Filipinos in North America, Europe and Asia to may also wish to invest in the BMT-JV Company and spearhead further development of the BMT range of implants and to initiate Surgical Trials and product distribution throughout the World.

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

BMT Medical Technology Inc. is a Toronto-based private R&D company incorporated in Ontario. The BMT Knee is an extension of the design of the famous 3M-Bateman Hip, designed by the late Dr. James Bateman, a Toronto orthopaedic surgeon, known for shoulder, nerve, feet and hip work. He co-founded the Orthopaedic & Arthritic Hospital Toronto and traveled the World teaching surgeons about the merits of the Hip’s design.

3M’s efforts over the life of the Bateman Hip patent resulted in sales/installation of an estimated 700,000 hips. BMT will license certain territories such as ASEAN, China, India, North & South America and Europe over the next few years. Its business development effort is also supported by the Canada Philippines Business Council (CPBC) headquartered in Toronto.

CONTACT:

Further information is available by contacting James Bateman, Managing Director, BMT Medical Technology Inc., at james@bmtorthopaedics.com

xxxriainxxx

March 3rd, 2010, 03:10 AM

Call center party-list sets up HIV hotline

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:36:00 03/03/2010

Filed Under: business process outsourcing (BPO), Health, Diseases, Epidemic and Plague

MANILA, Philippines—The party-list group representing the BPO (business processing outsourcing) and call center industry has launched an HIV hotline following the disclosure by a former call center agent that he became HIV-positive in 2009.

AKMA-PTM, through spokesperson Kevin Carreon, in a press statement, described the HIV hotline as a “lifeline for assistance” to raise Filipinos’ awareness on the dangers of HIV and provide access to those in need of medical testing, counseling and even treatment for the dreaded virus that causes AIDS.

Carreon called the spread of HIV in the country a “silent epidemic.”

He said the HIV hotline, 546-0691, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week and is manned by call center agents linked to the AKMA-PTM secretariat. The hotline has general information on HIV for agents and all interested callers.

“We have taken up the cudgels for the 500,000 call center agents in the Philippines, and one of our flagship projects is promoting public awareness of HIV-AIDS among industry workers and the general public,” said Carreon.

“We know that the BPO and call center industry is the hardest hit based on the reported cases of HIV infections in the country. We feel this is the proper time to respond to a silent epidemic,” Carreon said.

Last Monday, a 20-year-old call center agent disclosed in a video-taped statement he was infected with HIV in 2009 after having casual sex with a hospital worker he had met at a street party in Quezon City.

“The reason I contracted HIV was because I did not practice safe sex,” said the man, his face covered with a mask.

hakz2007

March 3rd, 2010, 04:53 AM

DOH to ban mercury importation (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p100302.htm&no=61)

6-point agenda to a mercury-free Philippines presented

Manila (2 March) -- Following movements to ban mercury globally, the Philippine Department of Health on Friday said that it will ask for the banning on importation of mercury products in the country.

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral in a meeting with environmental health group, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) identified other measures to ensure that the public will be safe from mercury.

#1: No more mercury permits

According to Cabral, since Administrative Order (AO) 21was implemented in September 2008, the DoH is no longer giving permits to medical devices distributors to sell mercury thermometers. The program will be escalated to include mercury sphygmomanometers.

Prior to AO 21, all hospitals have a one-is-to-one policy on mercurial thermometers. This means that every patient admitted or discharged in a hospital is entitled to one mercurial thermometer. In 2007, one 300 bed hospital distributed 10,000 mercurial thermometers in just a year.

#2: AO 21 to reach local health units

The DoH likewise said that they will promote and disseminate AO 21 to the local government units (LGUs) who are managing the barangay health units, rural health units, city heath and municipal, district and provincial hospitals.

In the regional conferences organized by HCWH-SEA and DoH Center for Health Development (CHD), majority of LGU-run hospitals and health centers said that they are unaware of AO 21.

In the conference for CALABARZON region, several health units raised the issue of involving the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the implementation of AO 21 citing that they are directly under the Department and that funding must also be supported by the LGUs.

#3: Mercury-free budget

To further speed-up AO 21 implementation, Cabral said that they will look into the 2009 General Appropriations Act (GAA) 13.2 M allocation for 66 government-run hospitals to purchase non-mercurial devices and have it released at the soonest possible time.

In 2008, HCWH-SEA together with Social Watch's Alternative Budget Initiative for health lobbied for additional environmental health allocations in the DoH budget. This however remains unreleased.

#4: Beyond health care

Cabral likewise expressed that DoH will set-up a program to follow-up on the state of the more than 20 student victims of mercury poisoning in St. Andrew's School in Paranaque in 2006.

Earlier, one of the victims who is now suffering advanced stage of Parkinsonism and nerve damage filed a 6M civil case against the school. While the other victims have stopped chelation therapy to remove mercury from their system, it is unclear whet her they have been cleared by the hospital.

#5: More alternatives

Cabral also pronounced that the DoH will continue the program to replace mercury devices in hospitals.

To further strengthen this, Cabral signed the Green Health Covenant which calls for the health sector and other individuals to call on their candidates to support mercury phase-out in the country and other green health care agenda such as proper heath care waste management leading to zero waste, chemical safety in health care and a health care responsive to climate change.

The Green Health Covenant now has more than 900 signatures from health care facilities in Regions 1, 2, 4A and online signatories.

#6: Ban mercury importation

The next logical step to mercury phase-out: ban mercury.

DoH said they will ask for the banning of importation of mercury products.This will prevent entry of mercury devices in the Philippine market.

HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. (PIA)

hakz2007

March 5th, 2010, 03:47 AM

guys, do you know any company manufacturing medical equipments or suppliers?

Maxxclip

March 5th, 2010, 03:58 AM

^^
try this:okay:

filipinolinks: tanikalang ginto (http://www.filipinolinks.com/Health_and_Medicine/Medical_Supplies__Equipment_and_Instrumentation/)

hakz2007

March 5th, 2010, 04:58 AM

^^thanks...really great help!

hakz2007

March 9th, 2010, 05:02 AM

EcoWaste Coalition offers 25 “hot” cooling tips as temperature soars (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=7&sid=&nid=7&rid=263194)

MANILA, March 9 (PNA) -- An environmental group has come up with practical suggestions that can help Filipino families cope with the scorching summer heat.

The EcoWaste Coalition Tuesday released their “Init Survival Tips” as temperature continues to soar with the onset of summer.

Last Saturday, temperature rose to 35.8 degrees celsius in Metro Manila and 37 degrees celsius in Tuguegarao City in Cagayan Valley.

To make the sweltering heat bearable, especially for ordinary citizens, the coalition compiled a list of “tips” that were sent via e-mail and text by its members and friends.

“We can beat the roasting summer heat by adopting creative ideas that will keep our bodies and homes cool without wasting precious water and electricity during this period of El Niño,” said Eileen Sison, NGO representative to the National Solid Waste Management Commission.

“Drinking lots of water is our best protection against the blazing heat. For a healthy and thirst-quenching drink, try blended or ‘ginadgad at pinigang' camias or Indian mango, or quickly-boiled avocado leaves with pandan for a refreshing ‘avopan’ juice,” suggested Ofelia Panganiban of Zero Waste Philippines.

“Think positive and call to mind happy moments to keep you calm and less irritable during the hot season. Enjoy simple family bonding activities such as sharing a healthy meal outside the house or under a tree,” added Bro. Martin Francisco of the Sagip Sierra Madre Environmental Society.

Here are some tips to help you survive the scorching summer season.

I.TIPS TO KEEP YOUR HOME COOL:

-Keep the windows open and the air flowing.

-Unclutter your home of stuff that eat space and get in the way of the air and simple living.

-Install blinds or shades made of native materials to block intense sun’s rays.

-Get farther from the roof; spend more time downstairs.

-Sun bleach or dry your clothes on the roof (the clothes will deflect the sun’s heat).

-Green your home with indoor plants that can also serve as natural air fresheners.

-Use plants, potted or planted directly into the soil, to block off the afternoon sun.

-Turf off sources of heat such as lights bulbs and appliances when not in use; maximize the daylight.

-Keep the electric fans clean and in good condition.

-Do heat-generating activities such as ironing clothes at night.

-Never burn your household discards, including fallen leaves and twigs from the garden.

-Recycle graywater from dishwashing, laundry and bathing to water plants or dampen dusty pavements.

II. TIPS TO KEEP YOUR BODY COOL:

-Drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated and your temperature down.

-Bring drinking water in reusable jug every time you go out (and lessen consumption of bottled water).

-Prepare your own healthy thirst quenchers such as “buko” juice or “iced tea” from pandan and tanglad (lemon grass) leaves.

-Refrain from consuming alcoholic drink, which makes one urinate more often and cause water loss.

-Enjoy fruits and vegetables with high water content such as watermelon, melon, singkamas (turnip) and cucumber.

-Eat small meals at regular intervals as big meals can warm your body up; eat green leafy veggies.

-Place damp handtowel on forehead, around the neck and under the armpits for a relaxing cool.

-When taking a bath, wet your underarms and extremities first before the head area; keep your shower time short to cut on water use.

-Do inhale-exhale exercise at least five times a day.

-Hold a cold beverage on your neck to cool yourself.

-Protect yourself from the sun using an umbrella, bandana, cap or an anahaw palm fan.

-Wear shades or sunglasses to protect your eyes against the sun’s harsh blaze.

-Wear light and loose clothes that breathe easily. (PNA)

Maxxclip

March 9th, 2010, 08:30 AM

Arroyo eyes new round of price cuts on medicines–DoH
by Jerry E. Esplanada

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health has been “working” on another round of drug price cuts to be enforced before end of the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in June, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

But Cabral said they were “not making any promises.”

The first two rounds of voluntary price reductions by 20-plus local pharmaceutical companies covered over 200 types of drugs and health care products sold in drug stores and hospital pharmacies nationwide.

Doctor Robert Louie So, head of the DoH's National Center for Pharmaceutical Access and Management, said their “initiatives in bringing down the prices of medicines do not stop.”

Talks between the DoH and drug firms are “ongoing,” So said, adding, “We always keep the channels of communications open.”

The President has the mandate to regulate the prices of essential medicines under the "Cheaper Medicines" law.

Meanwhile, a study conducted by the non-government Center for Legislative Development disclosed that despite drug price cuts of 50 to 70 percent, the Arroyo administration's “access to cheap medicines” program benefited mainly the middle-class, not the poor, its intended beneficiaries.

“The Filipino poor are so poor that price cuts would not result in greater access to medicines,” said the Asian Institute of Management, Makati City-based CLD.

In a 20-page report, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer, the CLD said “even the price ceiling on medicines were lowered considerably, the poor still find it difficult to buy the number and quality of drugs they need to cure or control their illnesses.”

“Most of the poor (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100309-257610/Arroyo-eyes-new-round-of-price-cuts-on-medicinesDoH) can hardly avail of the medicines they need in the market no matter how cheap the generic medicines may be because of insufficiency of income,” said the report, titled “Assessing the Government's Medicines Access Program.”

The same report noted “most of [the study's 600 respondents, all transient residents of Barangay [villages] 164 and 165 in Tondo, Manila; Barangay Marulas and Maypajo in Caloocan City; and Barangay Botocan and Pinyahan in Quezon City] reported sporadic or even rare consumption of medicines.”

“Only 15 out of the 600 respondents were able to meet the complete amount of medicines they need, while the rest had insufficient access. The numbers suggested that the lower the income, the lesser is their access to medicines and physicians,” the report also said.

That is why, the CLD study asserted the state's “mediated access to medicines programs, including the Botika ng Barangay, may not benefit the poor after all. The middle class who have more financial resources than the poor and who already have access to medicines may be the ones primarily enjoying these programs.”

“Government resources channeled to these programs meant to benefit the poor population may have been wasted as the target group may have not been properly served,” the study also said.

According to the CLD, “nobody is a winner in the current programs, but [everybody] may all have been losers as the poor could not afford the medicines, the government may have wasted resources and the private sector [pharmaceutical companies] may have not earned from an expanded market, including the poor even after the price reduction.”

The CLD, headed by Professor Emmanuel Leyco, stressed the need to “find a new approach in dealing with the health care demands of the poor.”

“Mandated price ceiling will be ineffective in broadening access to health care of the poor unless such ceiling is substantially low enough to reach the poor. The recent 50 percent reduction [in drug prices] was a substantial reduction but still failed to reach the poor,” said the NGO, established in 1988 as an independent legislative support structure. It was initially based at De La Salle University's political science department.

It suggested, “if the government wishes to reach the poorest sector [of society], it may have to explore other means, like adopting a drug subsidy program for the poor, financed and administered by the National Health Insurance Program.”

The state-run Philhealth Insurance Corp. “could be an instrument by expanding its coverage to include medicines for the poor.”

“Otherwise, if the market is still applied as a yardstick in providing for their health care needs, even if the barest minimum price is offered, the program may still marginalize the less privileged for the same reason that their income would never be sufficient as it is only meant for the most basic commodities,” the CLD added.

Asked to comment on the report, So pointed out “there's no perfect system.”

So insisted “mas maraming mahihirap ang natutulungan ng DoH [the DoH has been helping a lot of people to have] access to medicines program.”

He cited, among others, the “price cuts on paracetamol.”

“Unlike in the past when some medicine brands like paracetamol cost as much as P22 per tablet, today they are down to only 50 centavos,” he pointed out.

hakz2007

March 10th, 2010, 02:05 PM

DepEd, UNICEF launch interactive video on STIs, HIV, AIDS (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=7&sid=&nid=7&rid=263515)

COTABATO CITY, March 10 (PNA) -- The Department of Education and the United Nation's children agency have launched a massive information drive to educate the youth on the rising cases of STI and HIV infections among young Filipinos.

In a statement released here today, the UNICEF revealed an alarming findings that show that the Philippines is currently witnessing an increase of new HIV infection as never before.

Reported infections among 15-24-year old Filipinos increased five-fold from 41 in 2007 to 218 in 2009, according to the DOH-AIDS Registry.

To respond to the need for immediate action, DepEd and UNICEF launched an innovative, interactive approach to help young people learn about risky behaviors, STI, HIV and AIDS.

"The Power of You," an innovative educational campaign aimed toward high school students follows the story of Francis and Sara, typical teens who face big challenges everyday.

The interactive video allows users to choose the path that their characters will take, through decision points depicting drama and humor of a normal teenager’s life.

The UNICEF statement said that apart from rising cases of infection, national surveys also reveal that misperceptions about HIV still prevail among Filipino youth, and more of them are engaging in pre-marital sexual activity.

The 2003 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey (YAFSS) showed that 28 percent of young adults thought that AIDS is curable while 73 percent thought that they are immune to HIV.

Overall prevalence of sexual activity increased from 18 to 23 percent between 1994 and 2002.

This substantial increase in new HIV infections and lack of information on HIV and AIDS is a cause for concern not only for the Philippine government but more so for young Filipinos.

As enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely signed international treaty safeguarding children’s rights, children have the right to information at the right time to enable them to lead happy, healthy lives.

UNICEF and the Department of Education recognize this right and are taking serious steps to equip high school students with important life skills that can help them stay healthy and safe from infections like STI and HIV.

The video carries the message for young people to delay sexual debut and educate themselves and their peers about HIV and STIs.

“Today, young people learn things better if information is presented to them in a novel and exciting way, and Power of You does just that," Vanessa Tobin, UNICEF representative said.

"It is designed to raise awareness on STI and HIV among young people in a fun and interactive light. It motivates them to choose life-saving actions and focuses on the power of individual choice to make their dreams and ambitions come true,” Tobin added.

The high school campaign will involve the conduct of learning sessions using an interactive video.

In a learning session, a trained facilitator will guide the students in “Choosing the Life” of a teenager.

The main characters in the video will experience significant situations which require critical decisions.

The students will be asked to decide the fate of the main character.

Each choice will result in a new situation. The facilitator will give appropriate information bits after each decision.

The project will be rolled out and implemented by DepEd with assistance from UNICEF.

“The Department of Education signifies its commitment to a long-term, sustainable program targeting education and prevention. We are encouraging teachers to integrate programs like Power of You in their school improvement plans and foster an environment of openness wherein young people can talk about the problems that they typically encounter as they go about teenage life,” DepEd’s Bureau of Secondary Education Director Dr. Lolita Andrada said.

The Power of You campaign was initially piloted in 29 public schools in the National Capital Region, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, Olongapo and Masbate.

The campaign aims to reach at least 12,000 high school students in the first quarter of 2010. (PNA)

c6josh

March 13th, 2010, 03:08 AM

MOST DOH HOSPITALS FULLY COMPLIANT WITH TOTAL MERCURY PHASE-OUT

The Department of Health (DOH) reported today that 16 out of the 20 DOH-retained hospitals in Metro Manila have fully complied with the directive on phasing out the use of all apparatuses or devices in the healthcare system that contain mercury.

The phase-out is in keeping with Administrative Order No. 2008-0021 which mandates the gradual phase-out of mercury in all Philippine health care facilities and institutions.

The move to stop the use of all medical devices containing mercury was jumpstarted in 1991, when the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that a safe level for mercury that would not have any adverse effects on a person’s health has never been established.

The list of 16 fully-compliant hospitals include San Lorenzo Ruiz Women’s Hospital, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, Philippine Orthopedic Center, Valenzuela Medical Center, National Center for Mental Health, East Avenue Medical Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Dr. Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, Las Pinas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center, Rizal Medical Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Tondo Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

In a report to Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral last 24 February 2010, there were only four remaining DOH-retained hospitals in Metro Manila that have not yet fully complied with the phase-out.

These four hospitals are the National Children’s Hospital, Amang Rodriguez Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center and National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

The National Children’s Hospital is still using mercurial sphygmomanometers while awaiting delivery of digital sphygmomanometers, while the Heart Center has fully phased out mercurial thermometers, but still has functioning mercurial blood pressure devices that are waiting to be replaced.

The National Kidney and Transplant Institute is still using 11 mercurial sphygmomanometers but these are only used as back up in their hemodialysis units and are awaiting replacements. The Amang Rodriguez Medical Center retrieved nine mercurial blood pressure apparatuses from the condemned equipment damaged by Typhoon Ondoy but these too are due to be replaced soon.

Meanwhile, four compliant hospitals were recognized by the group Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia. These are the San Lazaro Hospital, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Las Pinas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

According to the Health Chief, mercury must be phased out because of its potentially harmful effects to a person’s health. Mercury can damage the nervous, digestive, respiratory, endocrine and immune systems. It can also cause tremors, impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional instability, developmental effects on a fetus, and attention deficit and developmental delays during childhood.

“With all the hazards posed by mercury, it is high time that we complete the implementation of its total phase-out in all hospitals and health facilities”, Cabral concluded.

hakz2007

March 14th, 2010, 01:01 AM

Doctors push for mercury ban in health care (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=8&sid=&nid=8&rid=264126)

TAGAYTAY CITY, March 13 (PNA) --Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia, a health and environment advocate group, on Saturday pushes for the banning of mercury in health care and promise a vote for the presidentiable who can make this happen.

In the medical ecology forum dubbed G.L.E.E. (Towards a Green Lush Eco-Friendly Environment), Philippine College of Physicians-Southern Luzon chapter signed the Green Health Covenant pledging to enjoin their candidates to be supportive of a mercury-free Philippines and other green health care agenda.

The group, an umbrella organization of internists in the Philippines, also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation outlining the steps towards the movement to a 100 percent mercury-free health care.

Although issues are being raised on the implementation of the recent ban on mercury-laced products, both HCWH-SEA and PCP-SL are positive that a ban on mercury products, combined with a leader who is strict in the implementation of the law and who believes in the wisdom of greening the system, are the necessary factors of a green health care.

Merci Ferrer, executive director of HCWH-SEA, said pushing for a mercury ban was just the first of the many programs that the two groups would do towards GLEE or a green lush eco-friendly environment.

"In the forum, we have discussed proper health care waste management. Although this issue is often ignored when we talk of the bigger waste management issue, we have to take into consideration the number of infectious wastes that hospitals produce. If not properly treated, it may add to the myriad of public health issues that the health sector is already facing," Ferrer said.

Another issue raised in the forum is on climate change. "Being an energy intensive sector, health care can contribute much in making the health care sector more responsive to climate change," said Ferrer.

"Simple adjustments such as putting more plants within the hospital premises, turning off the lights when not in use, will go a long way in making the health care sector more climate-friendly," Said Ferrer.

Two months before the election and the presidentiables may still get the health care sector's vote.

HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment.

For more information on HCWH-SEA, see www.noharm.org.ph.

Sonia G. Astudillo, +63 918 9182369, sonia@hcwh.org Merci Ferrer, +63 9209056113, merci@hcwh.org (PNA)

ralfy

March 14th, 2010, 04:41 PM

The article about health care reform is spot-on. We have to look at information like the percentage of the budget spent on health care, the ratio of doctors to citizens, the percentage of children who are undernourished, etc. Those numbers usually appear in reports like the UN HDR, and they reveal very bad news about our current situation.

c6josh

March 15th, 2010, 07:32 AM

posted by:bacolodchamp

IN THE INTEREST OF A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, HERE'S FROM CONG. MONICO'S CAMP

BACOLOD HEART, LUNG & KIDNEY CENTER

http://www.ndb-online.com/files/mar1510v1.jpg

Heart, Lung, Kidney Center Groundbreaking; Bacolod Tourism Program to be Given Boost

Lone District of Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella has announced through his Bom-bo Radyo Program "Congressional Hour" that responsibilities and pressing problems facing Bacolod City are his reasons why he was unable to personally cover the Pac-quiao-Clottey match, among these are the official ground-breaking of the Bacolod Heart, Lung and Kidney Center to be held today and the last match, he recalled, was when Barangay 19 was razed by fire.

Last November 2, 2009, at about 1:30 A.M, just as everyone had retired from the All Saints’ Day festivities, the Bacolod Congressman was up and alert, responding to fire victims of Barangay 19, a grave reason why he had to sacrifice traveling to Las Vegas to cover the Pacquiao-Hatton match then.

Who will have the heart, Puentevella said, to leave 17 individuals reported killed by the early morning raze and turned some 59 houses into ashes in the two Barangay 19 puroks last November 2, All Souls’ Day of 2009.

Today, he disclosed, the Pacquiao-Clottey match had to be sacrificed because of the ground breaking of a Six-Storey Bacolod Heart, Lung and Kidney Center, the services of this can reach the whole of Western Visayas and major cities of Mindanao like Davao.

With the opening of the Bacolod Heart, Lung and Kidney Center on the southern portion of the Philippines will be served at a tremendously reduced cost compared to the Manila rates where only such facilities and equipments are available, excluding board and lodging cost for each patient.

Fully financed by the Department of Health (DOH) facilitated by Puentevella’s Congressional Office, not a single centavo was spent by the City of Bacolod in constructing the Bacolod Heart, Lung and Kidney Center but Bacolod patients will be the first to benefit owing to their proximity.

Puentevella explained that the construction was somehow delayed because the original plan was a four-storey building but now DOH decided to build a six-storey building instead.

Meanwhile, in another interview program produced by Smile TV Channel 10, Puen-tevella said, given the chance to sit as Mayor, the Bacolod City tourism program will be given impetus being a major dollar earning endeavor.

He said, the Department of Tourism (DOT) had given him the funds to improve the Bacolod City Public Plaza but was refused by the Leonardia administration.

Nevertheless, Puentevella briefly drew the plan using his friendship with airlines to open direct chartered flights from Macau, Hongkong, Seoul and Singapore.

With a "facelifted" plaza, three festivals will be organized by the City for foreigners, dignitaries and the locals not to travel far just to see festivals of other cities, he said.

He stressed that there should be a fiesta for the martyrdom of San Sebastian as the patron saint of the Bacolod Diocese.

For as long as sugar prices are good, Puentevella said, a 3,000 seater convention center can be built seeking the support of the private sector and mobilize local architects for the design.

The Bacolod economy surely will perk, from transportation, to hotels, to "pasalubong centers" and the rest of the downstream industries, he added.*

http://www.ndb-online.com/mar1510v5

hakz2007

March 16th, 2010, 05:37 PM

DOH advocates wellness through compliance to medicines regimen
MANILA, March 15 (PNA) -- With medicine prices going down, the Department of Health (DOH) is now reminding the public to use medicines rationally and to complete their prescribed treatment regimen.

“Local and international trends are geared towards wellness. Rather than be burdened with the high costs of treatment, especially of hospitalizations, people tend to prefer to invest in the prevention of diseases and the promotion of healthy lifestyles and environments. This wellness concept saves money and improves quality of lives,” DOH Secretary Esperanza Cabral said in a statement.

“Engaging in sports promotes wellness. Like sports and healthy lifestyles, compliance to medicines regimen is also wellness. If you take your prescribed medicines rationally and correctly, you will feel better, live longer, be more productive, and have a good quality of life,” Cabral added.

The DOH earlier launched the “Compliance to Medicines is Wellness” campaign to promote sports and the rational use of medicines.

“Our efforts to bring down prices of medicines would be incomplete if people persist on not completing their treatment. One common malpractice is when patients stop completing antibiotic courses when their symptoms are gone because it costs too much money to complete a course. But this leads to antibiotic resistance which in turn pushes doctors to prescribe more expensive antibiotics later on,” the DOH chief said.

An example is the antibiotic Amoxicillin which is just around three (3) pesos. To complete a treatment of seven (7) days and cure you of a bacterial infection, you need 21 capsules that cost 63 pesos only. If the infection becomes resistant to Amoxicillin, to complete a course of another antibiotic, this may cost from 700 pesos to more than 1,000 pesos.

Cabral said even if a person suffers from chronic diseases like diabetes or hypertension, regular intake of prescribed maintenance drugs promises a better quality of life, with less risk for complications or hospitalizations.

She stated that the lowered costs of medicines now allow the people to comply and complete their treatment courses and take their medicines religiously if needed.

The lowered prices of medicines are due to initiatives by government to engage industry to bring down their prices as well as to the competition provided for by lower priced generics whether from local or from multinational sources.

“What we are promoting here are low cost medicines, whether branded or generic. These medicines offer competition that put pressure on high priced medicines to bring down their prices. Generic competition helps and even multinational companies now are geared towards having quality affordable generic lines for their products,” Cabral stressed.

The DOH launched its wellness campaign last Friday at the Philippine Sports Commission compound, the training grounds for Manny Pacquiao during his amateur days.

“Manny Pacquiao is our hero. His discipline is an inspiration to us all. And we want our people to exhibit the same discipline in taking medicines as Manny does in training for fights especially now that medicine prices are going down,” Cabral said.

The DOH announced last month the second round of government mediated price reductions that covered 98 medicines. These covered medicines for dialysis, cancer, prostatic disorders, asthma, depression, hypertension, among others. A majority of these price cuts would be effective March 31, 2010.

The first round happened August last year where prices of more than 100 medicines were cut by 50 percent. (PNA)
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=7&sid=&nid=7&rid=264418

Maxxclip

March 18th, 2010, 02:52 AM

resetting of priorities and "sacrifices"

Cabral: Forget the rich; poor need health care more
by DJ Yap

MANILA, Philippines—Forget about the rich.

This was Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral’s succinct advice to the Philippines’ next president insofar as health care was concerned.

“The rich can afford health care even without the help of government. It is the poor who have to be served by the government first of all,” Cabral said at a press conference that followed a presidential forum on health issues sponsored by the Philippine College of Physicians at the Medical City in Pasig City on Tuesday night.

Cabral said the country’s next president must push for universal health care and concentrate on the poorest regions where people have no access to hospitals and clinics.

“My advice to the next president as far as health is concerned is that he will have to deal with the disparities in the health system. He will have to look at the inequities. Forget about the rich (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100318-259344/Cabral-Forget-the-rich-poor-need-health-care-more),” she said.

Cabral noted that in terms of budget allocations, health care was not among the government’s top priorities.

red_jasper

March 21st, 2010, 04:14 AM

Home birthing is coming back even in urban areas (http://www.inquirer.net/mindandbody/musclesatworkandplay/view.php?db=1&article=20100320-259904&pageID=1)
Posted March 20, 2010 22:25:00
Lina Sagaral Reyes
Philippine Daily Inquirer

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—Ana, please, one more time,” Ana’s mother exhorted, as she dipped closer to her daughter’s head, clasping the right hand tight and running a left hand over her cropped hair.

“Push one more time, please,” she whispered close to Ana’s ear.

Ana remained still, her eyes closed.

“Just one more time, then the midwife can bathe your child. Please.” This time, it was Ana’s mother-in-law, who cajoled her to push just one more time.

Ana, 28, had just given birth a few minutes ago and her second child, a boy, was shrieking beside her on a blanket, his skin still smeared with blood and a thin, oily white sheath.

The labor was short, and the baby came out in less than an hour after the pregnant Ana had lain on her bed right by the flotilla of fighter-planes postcards pinned on a cork board below the sky-blue cotton towel hanging on a rack right next to the 14-inch TV set.

As the effects of the financial crisis continue to ripple toward the economic peripheries, Ana is one among the increasing number of pregnant women who risk the complications of birthing at home.

But she is not representative of the woman who would usually opt for such home birthing. Neither is she among those who fancy it as a back-to-basics defiant act against established tradition or governmental advice for healthy and safe motherhood.

‘Hilot’ services

In the 1900s and at the beginning of the new century, women who gave birth at home were rural residents and availed themselves of the services of the traditional, nonmedically trained hilot, a traditional birth attendant.

By 2000, 65.3 percent of total births in the country was attended by doctors, nurses and midwives. The figure is a high jump from that of a 1993 National Safe Motherhood Survey showing that 75 percent of deliveries in the Philippines take place at home, with a hilot attending 73 percent of the deliveries.

Almost two decades ago, home births used to make up 85 percent of deliveries in the rural areas, and 54 percent in the urban areas. By 2004, the number of women who opt to have medical attendants increased to 67.6 percent, most of them giving birth in a hospital or clinic.

In urbanized cities, like Cagayan de Oro, the figures are much higher. Those in Metro Manila had a high of 75-82 percent of births at a hospital or clinic.

City-bred Ana is an urbanite at heart. Her family lives in an apartment just a tricycle ride away from the financial district and a mere 5-minute brisk walk from the nearest private hospital.

Difficult times

Ana is schooled and has an accounting degree, and so is her husband, but the times had been difficult for both of them lately. The husband has been jobless for months and she is juggling her hours selling herbal medicines and bookkeeping for small firms.

“I think it is safe to give birth at home. As long as you have prepared well and have gotten prenatal counseling,” she said, assuring herself a few hours ago as her labor pains began.

She also trusted her midwife, who had assisted at the births of other mothers in the neighborhood in the past seven months previous to her own. “May is a professional and has a lot of experience.”

There was a popular hilot in the barangay who had delivered births for decades, but she had recently died. No one trained under her wing anymore.

Midwifery courses

But Ana noted that several young girls and boys are now taking midwifery courses, a cheaper and shorter route to a medically related profession than nursing or medicine.

May, the midwife, works at public hospital, but lately, she has been accepting requests for home-based deliveries. “It helps me earn more,” she said.

She had to ask for permission from her supervisor, who allowed her to accept appointments as long as it did not interfere with her regular 8-hour day shifts. She earns at least P1,800 for each delivery, but she also has to provide postnatal care and counseling for both mother and child.

A hospital-based delivery could cost between P5,000 and P10,000.

hakz2007

March 24th, 2010, 11:53 AM

DOH reports lower TB prevalence as it marks 2010 World TB Day
MANILA, March 24 (PNA) -- The Department of Health (DOH) revealed on Wednesday that the current year 2010 is the halfway mark of the 2006-2015 Global Plan to stop Tuberculosis (TB) as it observed World TB Day Wednesday.

This year’s theme, “On the Move Against TB, Innovate to Accelerate Action”, speaks of the need for new ways to make anti-TB services even more accessible and efficient.

The Philippines has itself made great strides in combating TB. From a high mortality rate of 38.2 deaths per 100,000 population in 1990, the Philippine Health Statistics reported a lower rate of 31/100,000.

While the Philippines is still included in the World Health Organization (WHO) watch list of 22 high-burden countries, it has lowered its ranking in TB prevalence from 7th to 9th. TB also remains the 6th leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the country, but experts have observed a decreasing trend.

The country has also made notable improvements in TB case detection, reflected by the increase over the past five years in the number of all TB cases identified, from 134,000 to 150,000 per year. Almost half a million smear positive cases were started on treatment and 90 percent have been successfully treated.

In pursuit of further success, the National TB Program (NTP) formulated the Philippine Plan of Action to Control TB 2010-2015 (PhilPACT) with the support of the WHO and the United States Assistance for International Development (USAID) through the TB-LINC and Health Policy Development Projects.

Administrative orders have also been formulated and implemented for the provision of services in selected sites for multi-drug resistant TB (MDRTB) patients, those with TB and HIV, prisoners/inmates with TB and for the nationwide expansion of TB services for children.

“We must scale up efforts and continue to seek new and innovative ways to stop TB if we are to successfully attain targets under the Millennium Development Goals”, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said.

Secretary Cabral also noted that, in collaboration with the PhilHealth, more than 500 TB-DOTS facilities (public and private) have been certified and accredited in 2009. Patients can access the TB Outpatient Benefit Package of Philhealth.

Services in the urban poor areas have also been enhanced through the involvement of non-government organizations in Tondo, Manila and Payatas, Quezon City through the support and collaboration of the NTP, the Research Institute for Tuberculosis and the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Foundation.

Secretary Cabral likewise stressed the importance of private sector involvement through the Philippine Coalition against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT). The private sector contributed nearly 10,000 cases detected under the Public-Private Mix DOTS (PPMD) strategy.

In all these initiatives, the DOH has been the primary provider of anti-TB drugs for all cases detected under the Program. (PNA) http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=7&sid=&nid=7&rid=266171

LASIK eye surgery making waves in RP
MANILA, March 24 (PNA Features)-– LASIK eye surgery, a high-technology form of medical medical treatment for those with problems in the eyesight, is making waves in Philippine shores.

Dr. Jack Arroyo, chief executive officer (CEO) of the American Eye Center (AEC), said LASIK surgery is an acronym for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomilieusis.

Dr. Arroyo said it’s a blade-less surgical procedure that corrects hyperopia (farsightedness), myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism.

It does this by reshaping the cornea using laser. Bloodless and painless, the procedure is finished in just a few minutes. More importantly, recovery is almost instantaneous, according to Dr. Arroyo.

Patients can usually go back to their normal routine the very next day, Dr. Arroyo said.

This done on their eyes so they can stop wearing glasses or contact lenses and lead normal, more active lives.

“You no longer have to go abroad to undergo this revolutionary refractive procedure. There is now a modern, well-equipped eye care center in the country that does LASIK surgery as well as the best US eye hospitals at just about half the cost,” exclaimed Dr. Arroyo.

AEC, which opened its second branch in Makati’s Greenbelt 5 last month, has, in fact, been doing LASIK surgeries – and other modern eye care procedures – for almost 15 years now.

Dr. Arroyo performed the first LASIK surgery in the Philippines in 1995. Having done over 20,000 LASIK surgeries since then, he is undeniably the most experienced refractive expert in the country.

“There is no need for anyone in the country to go to the United States for refractive surgery,” Dr. Arroyo says. “Our ophthalmologists at AEC can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best in the world.”

Helping Dr. Arroyo run AEC are three other senior partners: Dr. Benjamin Cabrera, the Center’s COO; Dr. Cesar Espiritu, AEC’s chief medical officer and president of the Cornea Club of the Philippines; and Dr. Victor Caparas, AEC’s chief finance officer and chairman of Medical City’s ophthalmology department.

They lead a team of 14 other specialists who provide medical and surgical services at the Center. Aside from their AEC practice, these doctors also teach at the University of the Philippines, Ateneo and other residency programs.

Established in 1995 at the old Medical City in Pasig, the AEC moved to Shangri-la Plaza in Mandaluyong in 2000 where it grew from a LASIK-refractive facility to a fully operational stand-alone diagnostic, therapeutic and ambulatory surgical center capable of performing cataract, glaucoma, retina, muscle, corneal transplant and oculoplastic surgeries.

The Center also has a long-time partner in SPEX, a modern optical shop that is owned and managed by the father-and-son tandem of Dr. Gil Divinagracia and Dr. Timothy John Divinagracia.

SPEX offers a wide range of lenses and spectacles, including top-of-the-line signature brands.

With SPEX as its partner, the AEC is truly a one-stop shop for world-class eye care services. (PNA Features)http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=7&sid=&nid=7&rid=266081

hakz2007

March 24th, 2010, 01:22 PM

From The Oasis (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=958)(African Forums).

List of countries by cigarette consumption per capita

This is a list of countries by annual per capita consumption of tobacco cigarettes.

Cigarettes are smoked by over 1.1 billion people. While smoking rates have leveled off or declined in developed nations, in developing nations tobacco consumption continues to rise at a rate of around 3.4% per annum.[1]

Smoking rates in the United States have dropped by half from 1965 to 2006 falling from 42% to 20.8% of adults.[2]. There are large regional differences in smoking rates, with Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Mississippi topping the list, and Idaho, California and Utah at significantly lower rates.[3]

In Australia the incidence of smoking is in decline, with figures from 2004-5 showing 23% of the population to be current smokers, a decline of 2% compared to 1995. Amongst the indigenous population, the rate is much higher, with 51% of men and 49% of women reported being current daily smokers. Young adults are the most likely age group to smoke, with a marked decline in smoking rates with increasing age. The prevalence of smoking is strongly associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, with over double the rate in the most disadvantaged quintile of the population as compared to the least. [4]

Ranking Country Number of cigarettes per adult per year

1 Greece 3,017
2 Slovenia 2,537
3 Ukraine 2,526
4 Bulgaria 2,437
5 Czech Republic 2,368
6 Macedonia 2,336
7 Russia 2,319
8 Moldova 2,239
9 Spain 2,225
10 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2,145
11 Armenia 2,083
12 Japan 2,028
13 Latvia 1,890
14 Croatia 1,849
15 Belarus 1,846
16 Lebanon 1,837
17 Cyprus 1,830
18 Poland 1,810
19 Kazakhstan 1,805
20 Belgium 1,763
21 South Korea 1,733
22 Estonia 1,718
23 Switzerland 1,698
24 Austria 1,684
25 China 1,648
26 Hungary 1,623
27 Italy 1,596
28 Tunisia 1,532
29 Kuwait 1,509
30 Turkey 1,499
31 Denmark 1,495
32 Romania 1,480
33 Slovakia 1,430
34 Ireland 1,391
35 Trinidad and Tobago 1,337
36 Portugal 1,318
37 Malta 1,287
38 Albania 1,201
39 United States 1,196
40 Israel 1,173
41 Australia 1,130
42 Germany 1,125
43 United Arab Emirates 1,092
44 Azerbaijan 1,089
45 Egypt 1,082
46 Philippines 1,073
47 Syria 1,067
48 Georgia 1,040
49 Kyrgyzstan 1,017
50 Argentina 1,014
50 Cuba 1,010
52 Indonesia 974
53 Paraguay 968
54 Finland 956
55 Lithuania 920
56 Chile 909
57 Canada 897
58 Netherlands 888
59 Vietnam 887
60 France 876
61 Libya 860
62 Jordan 846
63 Mauritius 846
64 Uruguay 793
65 United Kingdom 790
66 Iraq 784
67 Iran 764
68 Sweden 751
69 North Korea 714
70 Saudi Arabia 648
71 Malaysia 646
72 Thailand 634
73 Venezuela 622
74 Brazil 580
75 Algeria 577
76 New Zealand 565
77 Costa Rica 552
78 Laos 544
79 South Africa 511
80 Hong Kong 499
81 Turkmenistan 496
82 Norway 493
83 Jamaica 480
84 Colombia 479
85 Mexico 470
86 Honduras 450
87 Cambodia 447
88 Morocco 430
89 Singapore 406
90 Angola 397
91 Pakistan 391
92 Nicaragua 386
93 Senegal 380
94 Dominican Republic 335
95 Guatemala 325
96 Uzbekistan 317
96 Yemen 317
98 Togo 306
99 Panama 291
100 Madagascar 276
101 El Salvador 275
102 Nepal 274
103 Ecuador 234
104 Mozambique 213
105 Myanmar 209
106 Sri Lanka 205
107 Côte d'Ivoire 198
108 Bolivia 178
109 Bangladesh 172
110 Kenya 167
111 Cameroon 141
112 Democratic Republic of the Congo 131
113 Peru 129
114 Tanzania 108
115 Nigeria 103
116 India 99
117 Zimbabwe 86
118 Ghana 80
119 Sudan 75
120 Zambia 71
121 Ethiopia 52

Tayo pala ang nangunguna sa Southeast Asia :ohno: Kaya dapat paig-tingin ang kampanya against smoking.

Retro

June 17th, 2010, 08:35 AM

'Aquino's target of health care for all by 2013 realistic'
By Caroline J. Howard, ANC
Posted at 06/17/2010 11:54 AM | Updated as of 06/17/2010 12:37 PM

MANILA, Philippines - President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III hopes to give every Filipino access to health care by 2013.

Speaking on ANC's "The Rundown" Wednesday night, health experts believe, if the Aquino administration uses its resources right, it can achieve this goal.

Former Health Secretary Alberto Romualdez says the incoming government can meet that target by tapping into PhilHealth's sizeable reserves.

"The 3 to 5-year time frame is realistic in terms of making a dent on the needs of the poor," Romualdez says.

But, he admits, changes must be made in the business culture of the national health insurance system.

"In the initial stages of PhilHealth, the mindset was to behave as a private insurance company. That means they have to make money. Their collections of premiums should be substantially higher than their payout of benefits. This is contrary to the idea of social solidarity, which is the principle behind a national health insurance program," he explains.

PhilHealth reserves

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral says, based on its last financial statement, PhilHealth had more than P100 billion in its coffers.

She adds, under the law, PhilHealth is supposed to keep two years worth of benefits paid out in reserve.

Cabral says, this year, PhilHealth paid out P30-35 billion, which means it has P65-70 billion in reserves.

"The next administration should consider consolidating all the monies and resources that they have in many agencies, put them in one pot, and make sure it’s availed of rationally by the poorest who deserve it," Cabral says.

"Last year, PhilHealth earned P31 billion and only P20 billion was spent, so they saved P10 billion which could have been spent for the poor," adds former Health Secretary Jaime Galvez Tan.

Tan says PhilHealth has P10 billion in interest and P10 billion in unexpended finds, plus a P5 billion appropriation from the General Appropriation Act (GAA), P2 billion of which were spent for the poor.

'Improve infra, manpower'

Tan believes the incoming administration can do a lot in three years, more so if government resources are well-managed, and improvements are made to the country's health infrastructure and manpower resources.

While corruption is not necessarily to blame for such gaps in the health care system, Romualdez admits, correcting flaws in the system is critical to meeting the health targets of the incoming administration.

"Reforms needed in health sector are basic, and a great deal of change needs to happen if we're going to provide health services for all people, not just for those who can afford it. We need culture change in PhilHealth, a change in how we organize our health care services. Right now, it's fragmented. We need to unify, strengthen the regulatory system," Romualdez says.

Citing the new law to strengthen the regulatory system, Cabral says, there's an opportunity for the incoming administration to strengthen regulations.

"Our information system in health is pitiful. There's much we can do with new information technology, which will make it easier for health managers to deal with problems of people. We need to ensure people have more say in the running of hospitals, we need to have some mechanism to make sure people have access to highest levels to lodge their complaints," Cabral says.

While the 2013 target may be realistic for 85% of PhilHealth patients who have 30% health care coverage, Cabral admits improving the value of coverage may take time.

Increasing coverage

She adds, in a meeting set for this week, they hope to get hospitals to increase PhilHealth coverage to 80%.

She adds improving access to health facilities in isolated areas, creating a working referral system, and providing adequate compensation for health care workers would also go a long way in improving the delivery of health care.

"We need to put more health facilities in these areas so they can reach these people who are in the isolated and depressed areas," Cabral says. "We have to make sure we have a working referral system so we don't have to put CT scans in all these hospitals. There should be some means of transporting people to areas where facilities are available and experts can attend to more complicated illnesses. It should be possible to compensate those who go to hardship areas more than we compensate doctors who work in cities or urban areas where facilities are better and personal satisfaction is easier to come by."

By setting its priorities straight, health experts believe, the Aquino government is in the best position to make much-needed changes in the health sector, aimed at giving all Filipinos affordable and adequate health care.

Retro

June 21st, 2010, 11:19 AM

17.3M Filipinos are smokers, says NSO By Ronnel Domingo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:42:00 06/21/2010

MANILA, Philippines – Some 17.3 million or 28 percent of Filipinos 15 years and older are smokers, according to the National Statistics Office.

The NSO's contribution to the 2009 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) shows that 23 percent of working-age Filipinos get their fix daily, with an average of 11 cigarettes for males and seven for females.

Nearly half or 48 percent tried to quit but only 5 percent tried and succeeded.

RonnieR

June 22nd, 2010, 04:13 AM

^^ that's a lot of Pinoy smokers. :ohno:

Wireless Access for Health Project Works to Improve Public Health Care in the Philippines

- 3G Wireless Technology Enables More Responsive Health Care Systems -

MANILA, Philippines, June 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Philippines Department of Health, Tarlac Provincial Health Office and Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), through its Wireless Reach™ initiative, today announced the successful completion of the Wireless Access for Health project's pilot phase. The project participants leveraged their expertise and resources in public health, medical care, technology and training to create an electronic health record system that meets the needs of health care decision makers on varying levels, ranging from midwives to doctors to policy makers. Results at the conclusion of the pilot phase, which recorded over 12,000 patient consultations, indicate that such a system is not only feasible and improves patient care in rural health clinics, but also has a real impact for decision makers.

Wireless Access for Health utilizes 3G wireless technology to enable a locally developed electronic health record system. In the Philippines, local health care providers compile and report public health data to the Field Health Service Information System (FHSIS), which is the major source of data used for policy analysis and planning. The Wireless Access for Health project aims to streamline this reporting process by building on and strengthening the existing Community Health Information Tracking System (CHITS), an electronic medical record system developed by the University of the Philippines Manila. CHITS improves patient care and access to public health information by consolidating data captured during patient visits into reports for health care workers in four health units in the Tarlac region of the Philippines.

"The Wireless Access for Health project's electronic health record system is the appropriate response to the DOH's need for finding innovative ways of transmitting reliable health data to allow for speedier decision making and action," said Dr. Esperanza Cabral, secretary of the Department of Health in the Philippines.

The pilot project's results have been positive at the rural health units in Gerona, Moncada, Paniqui and Victoria. A process that previously took hours to complete, CHITS now can instantly generate all 23 of the DOH's FHSIS reports, allowing for improved patient care and more efficient patient visits, as the time needed to search for records is reduced to just seconds. The ability to easily view, record and share patient information simultaneously across multiple computers within a health clinic allows clinicians to complete patient consultations earlier, resulting in increased capacity to provide further support to community health workers.

"Wireless Access for Health is truly beneficial for the entire public health system, from patients to doctors to health care authorities at the local, regional and national level," stated Dr. Ricardo P. Ramos, chief of Tarlac provincial health unit. "The system's accurate and timely submission of health data is important in helping the government to identify and prevent disease outbreaks across the Philippines."

"Good health is fundamental to our lives. The use of electronic health record systems improves patient care and public health by making it easier for health care workers to both record and report patient information," said John Stefanac, vice president of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm Southeast Asia and Pacific. "Qualcomm believes wireless technology ensures widespread information access, as well as enhanced mobility and efficiency, to the average citizen – regardless of where consumers are. We are proud to be a part of Wireless Access for Health and are committed to enabling wireless technology that helps keep communities in the Philippines healthy."

In addition to the project's direct impact on health care delivery, it has trained 40 midwives and nurses to use computers for the first time, and Tarlac State University has gained experience in CHITS software development. This increase in knowledge, experience and resources for the various levels of health care decision makers enables Wireless Access for Health to serve as a model for replication across the Tarlac region and the rest of the Philippines.

"One result of this initiative is awareness among our partners in local health offices and local government units of the importance of data quality," said Myra Emata-Stokes, chief of The U.S. Agency for International Development's Program Resources Management. "This initiative makes it easy for partners to realize that the natural next step to systematic health information recording is data analysis and data utilization in places where these processes have not normally existed – even at the level of the rural health units, which are the most basic point of public health service."

"We are pleased to be part of this groundbreaking initiative. This project demonstrates that telecommunications can play an important role in modernizing the public health system, making it more effective and efficient in serving people even in remote areas of the country," said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Smart Communications, Inc.

This project is made possible through the collaboration of public-private partners: agencies of the Philippines Department of Health, including the National Epidemiology Center, the Information Management Service and the Center for Health Development for Region 3, local government units in Tarlac, Qualcomm's Wireless Reach initiative, RTI International, Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART), Tarlac State University, the University of the Philippines Manila-National Telehealth Center and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

About Qualcomm's Wireless Reach initiative

Qualcomm believes access to advanced wireless voice and data services improves people's lives. Qualcomm's Wireless Reach initiative supports programs and solutions that bring the benefits of connectivity to underserved communities globally. By working with partners, Wireless Reach projects create new ways for people to communicate, learn, access health care, sustain the environment and reach global markets. For more information, please visit www.qualcomm.com/wirelessreach.

Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Qualcomm is included in the S&P 100 Index, the S&P 500 Index and is a 2010 FORTUNE 500® company. For more information, please visit Qualcomm around the Web:

www.qualcomm.com

Ady001

June 24th, 2010, 03:06 AM

^^ Good news indeed! Dapat ding may national broadband network na din tayo for faster communication between hospitals and remote health workers.

Retro

July 2nd, 2010, 11:15 AM

Plan to raise health coverage to 70% pursued

Manila Standard Today
July 2, 2010

THE Health department says it has begun working on an increased health insurance coverage of up to 70 percent for members of the state-run PhilHealth, from the current level of 30-40 percent.

Health Secretary-designate Enrique Ona said the plan is among the priorities set by President Benigno Aquino III.

The increased coverage means putting in more into the health and hospital care of patients to reduce their out-of-pocket expenses, Ona told reporters on his first day in office.

In his inaugural speech, President Aquino made mention about universal health insurance or compulsory insurance for all Filipinos.

“He (Aquino) would like a 100% coverage of all our people within a period of three years,” said Ona.

Ona vowed to take measures to ensure that within a reasonable period, one or two years, the department will reach its goal of a 100% coverage as envisioned by Aquino.

“The problem here is where the money will come,” said the former director of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute. Macon Ramos-Araneta

RonnieR

July 13th, 2010, 05:10 AM

^^ 70% only? well, better than the present rate.

'All government hospitals must comply with law on geriatric wards'
By Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star) Updated July 07, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Loren Legarda urged the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday to ensure that government hospitals nationwide provide a senior citizens’ ward in accordance with Republic Act 9994, the Expanded Senior Citizens’ Act of 2009.

“This geriatric ward shall be for the exclusive use of senior citizens who are in need of hospital confinement by reason of their health conditions,” she said.

Legarda said the Constitution provides that the state has the duty to take care of citizens in their twilight years.

“I am happy to also announce that this new law also entitles indigent senior citizens identified by the DSWD to a monthly stipend amounting to P1,500 to augment their daily subsistence and other medical needs,” she said.

Legarda, principal author of RA 9994, said the DOH should administer free vaccination against the influenza virus and pneumococcal disease for indigent senior citizens.

“Death benefit assistance of a minimum of P2,000 shall also be given to the nearest surviving relative of a deceased senior citizen,” she said.

Legarda said senior citizens shall be granted exemption from the value-added tax on the sale of goods and services from all establishments.

Senior citizens are exempted from admission fees in theaters, cinema houses and concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other similar places of culture, leisure and amusement, she added.

Senior citizens receiving the minimum wage shall be exempted from the payment of individual income taxes, she said.

Legarda said senior citizens also enjoy a 20 percent discount on the following: medicine; professional fees of attending physicians in all private hospitals, medical facilities, and outpatient clinics; professional fees on medical and dental services, diagnostic and laboratory fees in all private hospitals and medical facilities, and outpatient clinics; fares for land transportation, domestic air transport services and sea shipping; and services in hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers.

b_two

July 13th, 2010, 09:17 AM

regarding philhealth. lahat ng ofw kailangan magbayad ng philhealth. nagbabayad ng isang bagay na di naman nila pinakikinabangan lalo na pag single pa ang isang ofw at wala syang dependents. sana makita ito ng gobyerno.

Ady001

July 20th, 2010, 02:25 AM

DOH chief gets rundown on health issues from doctors' group
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated July 20, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines – Health Secretary Enrique Ona yesterday met with a group of doctors and medical professionals to discuss the issues confronting the health sector.

During the meeting, Ona assured the Alliance of Health Workers and Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) that he would address the issues they have raised.

HEAD is demanding the release of the 43 community health workers seized by the military in Morong, Rizal last February on suspicion that they are communist rebels. They also want an increase in the current health budget of P24 billion to P90 billion.

The group is likewise urging the government to stop the planned privatization of government hospitals. They also want more health professionals deployed to remote areas.

HEAD is also asking for an evaluation of the performance of hospital directors because of issues of corruption and abuse against them.

Ona said he was actually convinced to accept President Aquino’s offer for him to head the Department of Health (DOH) because of his promise to increase the budget of the department. “I wish we can get (a budget of) P90 billion. Since it was P24 billion last year our target is to get P60 billion,” he said.

Ona gave assurance that hospitals supervised by the DOH would not be privatized.

He also said that corruption charges against hospital directors should go through the legal process.

He said the Aquino administration intends to expand the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) by attracting more members who can pay the P1,200 premium annually.

He said, however, that some government hospitals could not survive on government budget alone.

“That is our dream, to provide (free) health care services to all. But we have to look at our capacity given that the health sector has not been given that much budget in past years,” he said.

hakz2007

August 22nd, 2010, 03:35 PM

http://en.rian.ru/images/16027/64/160276474.jpg

Doctors recommend citrus fruit, apples, walnuts and honey to cleanse the organism from the influence of smog and smoke.

Source (http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20100821/160276524.html)

april boy

August 23rd, 2010, 12:05 PM

Four pharmaceutical firms get licenses for ampalaya tablet

By MELODY M. AGUIBA
August 22, 2010, 5:18pm
Manila Bulletin

Four pharmaceutical companies have obtained a license to market the Filipino-developed anti-diabetes ampalaya (bitter gourd) tablet and are just awaiting reformulation of the drug before hitting the big market for this degenerative disease.

The government has granted a license to Pascual Laboratories Inc., Herbs and Nature, Herbcare Corp., and the state-run Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Herbal Medicine (PITAHC) for the commercialization of ampalaya tablet, according to Philippine Council for Health Research and Development-Department of Science and Technology (PCHRD-DoST).

The ampalaya tablet, a drug for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, was originally developed and clinically-tested under the National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants (NIRPROMP), a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary project coordinated by the PCHRD.

Already P80 million has been allocated by the government for the development of drugs using indigenous plants some of which have already become a famous brand in the market including Pascual Laboratory’s Ascof, a lagundi tablet and syrup for cough treatment developed by NIRPROMP.

“I could not have imagined before that our products would reach (a successful commercialization level) as now when they are being advertised on t.v. and are being endorsed by a famous celebrity,” said Dr. Jaime C. Montoya, PCHRD executive director, in a press briefing.

The government has so far earned P40 million from royalty from Pascual Laboratory’s license use of lagundi. It is anticipating more income from other lagundi licensees. These are from the New Marketlink Pharma Corp. (NMPC), a subsidiary of Tao Corp, PITAHC (Lagundi brand), Herbs and Nature (Flemex brand), Pharmacare (Astrol brand).

“We earned P5 million from lagundi royalty from Pascual Lab alone and only for the month of December (2009),” said PCHRD’s Vicky Miranda in a separate interview.

For the ampalaya tablet, Miranda said government is also funding the reformulation so that patients do not have to take many tablets to receive the right dosage from the medicine.

The government is earning between 1.5 to three percent in royalty from drug development, according to Merlita M. Opena, PCHRD infromation and utilization program chief.

Licensees also have to pay government an upfront fee of around P100,000 which must be minimal enough for the commercialization of well-researched, clinically-tested drugs that have cost government a substantial research and development (R&D) investment.

Montoya said earnings from the commercialization of these drugs should be plowed back for R&D in order to prompt the local drug industry to flourish.

Other NIRPROMP-developed indigenous plant-based drugs, some of which have been successfully launched in the market are sambong tablet, a diuretic (for the treatment of edema or “manas”) and of kidney stone; yerba buena tablet, an analgesic for the treatment of pain; and tsaang gubat, for biliary and intestinal colic pain.

Linguine

September 5th, 2010, 08:56 AM

Non-PhilHealth members urged to register
By CHARISSA M. LUCI
September 4, 2010, 10:10pm

Manila, Philippines — The Department of Health (DoH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) have urged all the non-members of PhilHealth to take advantage of the one-day registration in October and be part of the government’s health insurance program.

PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Rey B. Aquino asked “financially capable” individuals to pay their premium contributions to give them health security blanket.

The whole-day registration called “PhilHealth Sabado, Magseguro, Magparehistro” is set for Saturday, October 2.

“We encourage those financially capable of paying for their premium contributions to register under our Individually Paying Program,” Aquino said.

“In particular, we would like to reach out to our fellowmen who are not yet members, but who have the financial means to pay for their premium contributions.”

There are about 20 million principal PhilHealth members, 3.42 million of whom are individually paying members.

The registration centers include all regional and service offices of PhilHealth, as well as the DoH’s Centers for Health Development and DoH-retained hospitals nationwide.

source (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/275604/nonphilhealth-members-urged-register)

Linguine

September 15th, 2010, 02:18 PM

DSWD Asked to Justify Raising Poor Pension Eligibility to 80 Years

By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA
September 15, 2010, 6:03pm

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was asked Wednesday to justify its plan to raise the age criteria of eligibility of beneficiaries for its indigent social pension program.

Sen. Edgardo Angara said the DSWD should explain why they raised the age requirement from 60 years old to 80 years old that would in effect lower the number of indigent senior citizen eligible for the benefits.

Angara raised the issue apart from the fact the agency has a proposed P34.3-billion budget for 2011 which is up by 123% from its 2010 budget of P15.4 billion.

He said around 1.7 eligible senior citizens stand to benefit from the agency’s social pension program which is under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act (ESCA). Raising the eligibility to 80 years old lowers the number to a more manageable 145,000.

Angara noted this is in addition to the established requirements: frail or sickly, no regular income and no regular financial support.

“Yung eligibility requirements ninyo — no family support, no financial means, frail and sickly — wala nang 80-year olds kapag ganyan ang conditions,” Angara told the agency’s officials during a recent budget hearing.

Angara also asked the agency to clarify its rules to avoid future misunderstanding of a policy that is meant to improve the lives of the people.

This was also after the DSWD confirmed Angara’s assumption that the average life expectancy of Filipino women is now around 79 years old while the men had a lower life expectancy of about 76.

However, the National Statistics Office projects the average life expectancy of Filipino females from birth at 73.14 years from 2010 to 2015, and at 71.64 from 2015 to 2010. This compares to 73.34 years from 2005 to 2010.

The NSO projects average life expectancy of Filipino males at 67.61 years from 2010 to 2015, and at 66.11 from 2015 to 2020. This compares to 68.81 years from 2005 to 2010.

Studies show that the average life expectancy of Filipinos from birth rose from 61.6 years in 1980 to 64.6 years in 1990. This rose to 69 years in 2000 and projected to rise to 70.5 years in 2005.

The studies said that in the Philippines life expectancy of females are higher than males: 72.8 years for females compared to 67.5 years for males in 2004.

“The law might not respond to the needs of the people they are created for simply because of improper wording,” he said.

“For example, the term ‘financial assistance’ should not disqualify them from availing of this pension, because we can’t be sure that the help that they are receiving is sufficient for their basic needs,” he explained.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/277230/d

Linguine

September 15th, 2010, 02:19 PM

Budget For Public Health Slashed
DoH hospital funds cut by as much as 50%

By JENNY F. MANONGDO
September 13, 2010, 6:06pm

MANILA, Philippines — A group of medical workers on Monday voiced its concern over the slash in the operational budget of almost all public hospitals in the country.

In a statement, the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) said the “Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE)” of public hospitals have been reduced by as much as 50 percent in the proposed national budget of the Department of Health (DoH) for 2011.

While the operational budget for public hospitals has been cut, the 2011 outlay for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been increased to P34.4 billion from P15.4 billion in 2010 or a 123 percent increase.

“The MOOEs are the operational funds of these hospitals, their very lifeblood,” said Dr. Geneve Rivera, secretary-general of HEAD. “If these are not enough, then the provision of direct health services will be adversely and severely affected. Filipino patients will suffer for this.”

The HEAD official said the MOOE of Culion Sanitarium in Palawan will receive the biggest cut in the budget at P13 million or lower by more than 50 percent. From P25.9-million budget in 2010, it will receive P12.9 million in 2011. Western Visayas Medical Center will also receive a reduction in budget with 42 percent decrease in MOOE or P39 million.

“In Metro Manila, eight of the 12 DoH-retained hospitals have decreased MOOEs in 2011 amounting to a total of P70.8 million. The MOOE of Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, the DoH’s flagship hospital, is reduced by P9.3 million, while that of San Lazaro Hospital, where most infectious cases are taken, is reduced by P6.5 million,” Rivera added.

Dr. Gene Nisperos Alzona, HEAD vice chair, said they based their claims on the proposed budget of DoH for 2011 that is available online.

But “there is no change for hospital budgets," Dr. Yolly Oliveros, DoH head executive assistant insists in a separate interview.

Dr. Nisperos said HEAD has studied the allocations of the proposed 2011 budget that clearly shows the drop in the budget for public hospitals.

“The proposal for the 2011 budget is available online. They said there is no change in the budget of hospitals because they are looking at the total. There are three kinds of budget. One is the capital outlay which is for the infrastructures, the operational budget, and the personnel salaries. If you look at the whole thing, there is no change. But the capital outlay has been removed, the salaries increased only because they are applying the salary standardization scheme. The operational budget is needed because this is where the capacity to give services is dependent… If you look at the total, there seems to be no big change in it… The ‘actual increases’ are covered by ‘deceptive increases,’” he said.

HEAD also noted the increase in the allocation of two hospitals under the Department of National Defense (DND).

It said the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center has an increase of P168.0 million, from P923.5 million in 2010 to P1.091 billion 2011, while the Veterans Memorial Medical Center also has an increase of P130.7 million, up to P820.2 million (2011) from P689.4 million (2010).

“If President Benigno Simeon Aquino III can give such an amount to hospitals under the DND, it should give the same, if not more, to DoH hospitals because these cater to the general public, particularly the poor,” Dr. Rivera said.

In contrast to the DoH proposed budget of P32 billion, HEAD is proposing a P90-billion budget where P40 billion should be allocated for improving the public healthcare delivery system, particularly the state of public hospitals.

“All 12 DoH-retained hospitals should each get P1 billion while the 55 public hospitals nationwide should each get an average of P500 million. These funds will be used to improve and upgrade their equipment, and ensure sufficient medical supplies and medicines in their pharmacies.”

Meanwhile, lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Monday questioned the significant cut of allocation for several public hospitals all over the country.

In a public hearing, House minority leader Edcel Lagman asked Health Secretary Enrique Ona to explain the reductions. (With a report by Rio Rose Ribaya)

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/276877/public-health-peril

icarusrising

September 16th, 2010, 10:53 AM

ANTIDENGUE DRIVE (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100916-292523/DoST-develops-mosquito-trap)
DoST develops mosquito trap

By Christine O. Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:59:00 09/16/2010

Filed Under: Dengue, Science & Technology, Health, Diseases

MANILA, Philippines—Prompted by persistent reports of dengue cases nationwide, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) has developed a mosquito trap that check the spread of the virus and may soon become available next month.

The trap has successfully passed laboratory tests and will be subjected to field tests in 500 households in Quezon City and 500 households in Marikina City next week, Science Secretary Mario Montejo said at a press briefing in Malacañang Wednesday.

“If we get positive results which we expect, we can roll them out all over (the country),” Montejo said. “We have to be careful that what we’re claiming is really validated, including implementation details.”

Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, has so far afflicted more than 50,000 people, killing 500 of them.

Montejo presented to reporters the mosquito trap, a small plastic black container with a black “organic” solution developed by epidemiologists and a piece of wood.

“Mosquitoes are attracted by the color, as well as the solution, which has fumes,” he said.

100-percent kill

The insects gather inside the container and lay their eggs, but the larvae end up being killed there, Montejo said. Laboratory tests showed the solution killing “100 percent” of the larvae, he added.

The secretary said he hoped the mosquito trap could be made available in a month.

The container and solution cost P30 or less, he said. People can just come up with their own plastic container and buy the solution, which will cost only P5 a pack, he added.

Montejo said he expected the trap to last for two months as he noted that the life span of a mosquito was only one month. A female mosquito lays as many as 400 eggs four times in its life, and 80 percent of the eggs turn out to be female.

The science official said the device was not new because as early as 12 years ago, it was used mainly to attract mosquitoes and monitor their number.

What is new is the development of the solution, and thus the trap is the first one to kill mosquito larva, according to Montejo.

A household may need between five and 10 mosquito traps, depending on where family members want to place them, he said.

Montejo also disclosed that the DoST and the Department of Health would come out “in the near future” with diagnostic kits to help doctors determine if their patients have contracted the disease.

Read more... (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100916-292523/DoST-develops-mosquito-trap)

RonnieR

September 17th, 2010, 08:44 AM

^^ If it's only P5/pack, then it is very affordable.

Filipinos expect govt to provide healthcare to all

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/nation/26005-filipinos-expect-govt-to-provide-healthcare-to-all

Friday, 17 September 2010 00:00

ABOUT 87 percent of adult Filipinos expect the government to provide healthcare for all, including those who cannot afford to pay for it, according to a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey. It also found that 60 percent of the respondents felt satisfied with the government in providing quality health services for all. In addition, 25 percent never consulted a doctor or a health facility during sickness, while 55 percent have no health insurance; and that the majority were willing to pay higher premium to cover dependents/children (67 percent) and other healthcare costs (55 percent).

The survey learned that 78 percent gave importance to the issue of health insurance in choosing their president in the May 2010 polls.

The study also showed that 75 percent of the respondents consulted a doctor when they felt sick, of which 31 percent said that they did so in the past 12 months; 19 percent—about one to two years ago; 9 percent—three to four years ago; and 16 percent—five years ago or more. On the other hand 25 percent have not gone to a doctor or a health facility when they were sick.

Of those who went to a doctor or health facility upon falling ill, the survey revealed that only 8 percent of the respondents used PhilHealth to pay for their medical bills.

The SWS also said that 72 percent of those who participated in the survey paid for their medical bills, while 16 percent got it for free from a public doctor. Only 5 percent said that they had family or friends to help them pay for their medical bills.

According to the study, the most common reason for not going to a doctor or health facility was “I knew what medicine to buy in order to cure myself” (33 percent). Other reasons cited include: “I couldn’t afford it” (24 percent), “Never consulted a doctor when sick” (17 percent), and “There is no doctor or hospital nearby” (4 percent).

The survey also found that 55 percent did not have any public or private insurance to cover for their healthcare expenses, with higher proportions coming from Class D (54 percent) and E (66 percent), as compared to those belonging to the upper and middle classes (28 percent).

Asked if part of what the government spends for road-building should be better spent for healthcare, 59 percent said that they agree with the statement. On another question, 64 percent disagreed with the statement that getting health insurance is a waste of money, while 25 percent agreed. The remaining 10 percent were undecided on the matter.

About half (49 percent) also disagreed that “only rich people can afford to buy health insurance,” while 39 percent agreed. 12 percent were undecided.

The SWS survey, which was commissioned by the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines, was conducted from January 29 to February 1, during the administration of former President and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Second District of Pampanga.
THE TIMES

Linguine

September 19th, 2010, 04:16 AM

Solon wants P5-M set aside for mothers’ health

Written by Fernan Marasigan / Reporter
Saturday, 18 September 2010 10:14

As the government scrambles to meet Millennium Development Goal (MDG) No. 5 in 2015, House Minority leader Edcel Lagman proposed to earmark and utilize annually at least P5 million from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of each House of Representatives member which he said can boost the country’s chances of achieving the goal in improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality.

Lagman said that a total of P6.75 billion in five years can be sourced from PDAF, also called “pork barrel” which could help attain Goal No. 5 even as he lamented that “among all the eight MDGs, the least likely to be achieved is Goal No. 5.”

He said that worldwide, the least progress has been in the area of reducing maternal mortality and improving mother’s health.

“This mirrors the low status accorded to women in most societies because the goal that specifically protects and promotes their health and well-being is the one where the commitment of majority of the signatory-countries is at best, faltering and at worst, feeble and half-hearted,” said Lagman in a speech before participants to the Women Deliver Conference recently.

Lagman proposed to earmark and utilize annually at least P5 million from the congressmen’s PDAF or a total of P1.35 billion yearly for related programs and activities to help achieve MDG 5 in their respective districts and constituencies.

He emphasized that allocating funds through the PDAF for basic and emergency obstetric care and information campaign to avoid high-risk pregnancies will lower maternal mortality and morbidity.

“If we collectively adopt and implement this proposal starting in 2011, we shall be able to harness P1.35-billion annually or P6.75 billion in five years in the House of Representatives alone,” Lagman said. The deadline for achieving the MDGs is 2015.

Lagman added that “the enactment of a rights-based, development-oriented and health-driven law on reproductive health that is well-funded and national in scope will help ensure that the miracle of life will not mean death for so many mothers.”

In the Philippines, Lagman said that 11 women die daily of causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. The country’s current maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is pegged at a high of 162 deaths for every 100,000 live births, while the MDG target is an MMR of 52 by 2015.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/1435-solon-wants-p5-m-set-aside-for-mothers-health

Linguine

September 23rd, 2010, 01:47 PM

Linguine

September 23rd, 2010, 05:54 PM

PhilHealth for cancer outpatients urged

Written by Sara Susanne D. Fabunan / Correspondent
Thursday, 23 September 2010 13:28

A GROUP of cancer-patient groups on Thursday urged the government to expand the coverage of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) by including benefits for Filipino outpatients.

In a press conference, Cancer Warriors Foundation (CWF) executive director James Auste said President Aquino’s commitment to increase the coverage of health-insurance members won’t be complete if the government will not implement benefits for outpatients.

He said from the 45 percent of Filipinos who availed themselves of PhilHealth benefits last year, 25 percent had not consulted a doctor during illness and 90 percent are outpatients.

“Most of these [treatments] are out-of-pocket expenses by the family of the afflicted. Universal coverage can be meaningless if the benefit package is curative in nature. For PhilHealth to be aligned with the Health department’s battle cry, it should focus on preventive approaches. There should be a benefit package for outpatient and maintenance medication for people stricken with chronic diseases,” Auste said in a press conference in Manila.

Auste said 65 percent of children who suffer from cancer are all outpatients.

“PhilHealth covers only those patients who are hospitalized, and those cancer patients who are admitted to hospital are those who [already have] a terminal condition,” he lamented.

 By way of example, he said the treatment for children with leukemia costs about P13,000 a month, excluding the expenses for antibiotics in other infectious illnesses.

According to CWF, of the 3,500 Filipino children diagnosed with cancer, 2,500 die yearly, mainly because “they have no money to buy medicines.” In contrast, in the US and other developed countries, eight out of 10 kids diagnosed with cancer survive. “In the Philippines, eight out of 10 die, only two survive, because the drugs are expensive and the poor have no money for these,” Auste said in an interview.

Benefits for outpatients, that PhilHealth must include, he said, are consultation fee, dental fee, blood test, diagnostic test and medication.

Cut the Cost, Cut the Pain Network (3CPNet) spokesman Salvacion Basiano also said PhilHealth accounts for only 12 percent to 15 percent of the country’s total health-care expenditure, while out-of-pocket expenses account for almost 60 percent and the rest is covered by private health-service institutions.

3CPNet reported that an average spending for health care per household is P5,874, way above the poverty threshold of P4,835.

“A significant number of daily wage earners suffering from diabetes or hypertension could not comply with their regular medication because these are not covered by PhilHealth, and they’d rather spend their hard-earned income for their family’s food on the table,” Ayos na Gamot sa Abot-Kayang Presyo convener Ludy Casaña said.

Their group also asked the PhilHealth to implement the cost-containment measure of the cheaper medicine law.

The coalition wants to initiate dialogues to improve its partnership with and among government agencies, the private sector and civil-society groups on the maldistribution of health resources, low quality of government facilities, underinvestment, and the health expenditures being dominated by out-of-pocket payments. 

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/1680-philhealth-for-cancer-outpatients-urged

Linguine

September 24th, 2010, 04:59 PM

Leyte Opens 4 New Birthing Centers

September 24, 2010, 8:57pm

TACLOBAN CITY – The provincial government of Leyte, in partnership with private group Kakak Foundation, has opened at least four more birthing centers in strategic villages.

The establishment of the birthing centers is in support to the local government’s plan to provide various areas in the province with safe affordable birthing centers and thereby reduce maternal and infant mortality.

Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho “Icot” L. Petilla led in the inauguration of the birthing centers located in the villages of Culasian in Capoocan town, Jugaban in Carigara, District 3 and Governor Jaro in Babatngon.

Petilla said that with the establishment of birthing facilities, expectant mothers can now avail of quality and affordable maternal health care services – and no longer resort to the traditional “hilots,” and thereby avoid risks of mother and infant mortality.

With health among his priority programs, Petilla earlier vowed that he would make Leyte as one of the top provinces with the most number of birthing centers, in an effort to eradicate mother and infant mortality.

Earlier, the Leyte government has already opened birthing centers in the towns of Palo, Sta. Fe, Inopacan, and Tabango.

While other birthing centers will be opened in the municipalities of La Paz and Julita.

Petilla, however, said the thrust in establishing more birthing centers should be coupled with appropriate family planning and education – especially for villagers in far-flung barangays. (Jack C. Gadaingan)

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/278896/leyte-opens-4-new-birthing-centers

NOVO ECIJANO

September 25th, 2010, 01:12 PM

GUYABANO(SOURSOP)NATURAL CANCER CELL KILLER

by María-Isabel Marqués on Friday, August 6, 2010 at 10:47pm
I received this e-mail from a friend (doctor)... I want to share with everybody... so please share with your friends...

Guanábana as we called in Puerto Rico, is one of my favorite fruit since i was a little child...

The Soursop Fruit or GUANABANA (name of the fruit in Puerto Rico) GUYABANO, is the name Philippines call the fruit.
The SOUR SOP or the fruit from the GRAVIOLA TREE is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo.

Why are we not aware of this? Its because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale.

So, since you know it now you can help a friend in need by letting him know or just drink some sour sop juice yourself as prevention from time to time. The taste is not bad after all. It's completely natural and definitely has no side effects.. If you have the space, plant one in your garden.
The other parts of the tree are also useful.
The next time you have a fruit juice, ask for a sour sop.

How many people died in vain while this billion-dollar drug maker concealed the secret of the miraculous Graviola tree?

This tree is low and is called graviola in Brazil , guanabana in Spanish and has the uninspiring name "soursop" in English. The fruit is very large and the subacid sweet white pulp is eaten out of hand or, more commonly, used to make fruit drinks, sherbets and such.

The principal interest in this plant is because of its strong anti-cancer effects. Although it is effective for a number of medical conditions, it is its anti tumor effect that is of most interest. This plant is a proven cancer remedy for cancers of all types.

Besides being a cancer remedy, graviola is a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent for both bacterial and fungal infections, is effective against internal parasites and worms, lowers high blood pressure and is used for depression, stress and nervous disorders.

If there ever was a single example that makes it dramatically clear why the existence of Health Sciences Institute is so vital to Americans like you, it's the incredible story behind the Graviola tree.

The truth is stunningly simple: Deep within the Amazon Rainforest grows a tree that could literally revolutionize what you, your doctor, and the rest of the world thinks about cancer treatment and chances of survival. The future has never looked more promising.

Research shows that with extracts from this miraculous tree it now may be possible to:
> * Attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss
> * Protect your immune system and avoid deadly infections
> * Feel stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment
> * Boost your energy and improve your outlook on life
The source of this information is just as stunning: It comes from one of America 's largest drug manufacturers, the fruit of over 20 laboratory tests conducted since the 1970's! What those tests revealed was nothing short of mind numbing... Extracts from the tree were shown to:
>
> * Effectively target and kill malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancer..
> * The tree compounds proved to be up to 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug!
> * What's more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectivelyhunts down and kills only cancer cells. It does not harm healthy cells!The amazing anti-cancer properties of the Graviola tree have been extensively researched--so why haven't you heard anything about it? If Graviola extract is as half as promising as it appears to be--why doesn't every single oncologist at every major hospital insist on using it on all his or her patients?

The spine-chilling answer illustrates just how easily our health--and for many, our very lives(!)--are controlled by money and power.

Graviola--the plant that worked too well

One of America 's biggest billion-dollar drug makers began a search for a cancer cure and their research centered on Graviola, a legendary healing tree from the Amazon Rainforest.

Various parts of the Graviola tree--including the bark, leaves, roots, fruit and fruit-seeds--have been used for centuries by medicine men and native Indians in South America to treat heart disease, asthma, liver problems and arthritis. Going on very little documented scientific evidence, the company poured money and resources into testing the tree's anti-cancerous properties--and were shocked by the results. Graviola proved itself to be a cancer-killing dynamo.

But that's where the Graviola story nearly ended.

The company had one huge problem with the Graviola tree--it's completely natural, and so, under federal law, not patentable. There's no way to make serious profits from it.

It turns out the drug company invested nearly seven years trying to synthesize two of the Graviola tree's most powerful anti-cancer ingredients. If they could isolate and produce man-made clones of what makes the Graviola so potent, they'd be able to patent it and make their money back. Alas, they hit a brick wall. The original simply could not be replicated. There was no way the company could protect its profits--or even make back the millions it poured into research.
As the dream of huge profits evaporated, their testing on Graviola came to a screeching halt. Even worse, the company shelved the entire project and chose not to publish the findings of its research!

Luckily, however, there was one scientist from the Graviola research team whose conscience wouldn't let him see such atrocity committed. Risking his career, he contacted a company that's dedicated to harvesting medical plants from the Amazon Rainforest and blew the whistle.

Miracle unleashed
When researchers at the Health Sciences Institute were alerted to the news of Graviola, they began tracking the research done on the cancer-killing tree. Evidence of the astounding effectiveness of Graviola--and its shocking cover-up--came in fast and furious....

.....The National Cancer Institute performed the first scientific research in 1976. The results showed that Graviola's "leaves and stems were found effective in attacking and destroying malignant cells." Inexplicably, the results were published in an internal report and never released to the public...

...Since 1976, Graviola has proven to be an immensely potent cancer killer in 20 independent laboratory tests, yet no double-blind clinical trials--the typical benchmark mainstream doctors and journals use to judge a treatment's value--were ever initiated...

....A study published in the Journal of Natural Products, following a recent study conducted at Catholic University of South Korea stated that one chemical in Graviola was found to selectively kill colon cancer cells at "10,000 times the potency of (the commonly used chemotherapy drug) Adriamycin..."

....The most significant part of the Catholic University of South Korea report is that Graviola was shown to selectively target the cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched. Unlike chemotherapy, which indiscriminately targets all actively reproducing cells (such as stomach and hair cells), causing the often devastating side effects of nausea and hair loss in cancer patients.

...A study at Purdue University recently found that leaves from the Graviola tree killed cancer cells among six human cell lines and were especially effective against prostate, pancreatic and lung cancers.... Seven years of silence broken--it's finally here!

A limited supply of Graviola extract, grown and harvested by indigenous people in Brazil , is finally available in America .

The full Graviola Story--including where you can get it and how to use it--is included in Beyond Chemotherapy: New Cancer Killers, Safe as Mother's Milk, a Health Sciences Institute FREE special bonus report on natural substances that will effectively revolutionize the fight against cancer.
> This crucial report (along with five more FREE reports) is yours ABSOLUTELY FREE with a new membership to the Health Sciences Institute. It's just one example of how absolutely vital each report from the Institute can be to your life and those of your loved ones.

From breakthrough cancer and heart research and revolutionary Amazon Rainforest herbology to world-leading anti-aging research and nutritional medicine, every monthly Health Sciences Institute Member's Alert puts in your hands today cures the rest of America --including your own doctor(!)--is likely to find out only ten years from now.

Linguine

September 26th, 2010, 06:03 AM

Doctors told to quit smoking, practice what they preach

By Cynthia Balana
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:50:00 09/26/2010

Filed Under: Health

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) urged its members to set an example to patients by not smoking. In a resolution Friday, the PMA “prohibited” smoking among its members and enjoined all other medical practitioners not to smoke.

PMA president Oscar Tinio pointed out that smokers were not the only ones affected by the habit. He said the health of nonsmokers was put at risk by secondhand smoke, “which is equally, if not more, damaging.”
The PMA resolution asked doctors to inform their patients about the benefits of not smoking and the ill effects of tobacco use.

“Our members are in the best position to know the damaging effects of tobacco smoking on a person’s health,” Tinio said.

Dr. Mike Aragon, chair of PMA’s media affairs, said members violating the resolution would be subject to penalties provided for in the association’s rules.

He encouraged the public to report doctors who were smoking. A committee would decide on what to do with the erring members, he added.

The PMA resolution was signed at the end of the association’s Fun Run, an activity led by “running priest” Fr. Robert Reyes at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

Similar activities were held simultaneously in the PMA’s 118 chapters in cities and towns around the country. Aside from doctors, representatives of civic organizations that advocated no smoking also joined the Fun Run.

Tinio admitted that some doctors continued to smoke despite knowing its ill effects. This gave the public the false impression that PMA was not supportive of the no smoking campaign, he said.

“Physicians must be role models on matters of health...that is why it is highly inappropriate for physicians to be seen smoking,” Tinio said.
Government statistics show that there are some 17.3 million smokers in the Philippines, about 28 percent of the population aged 15 and above. Even President Benigno S. Aquino III is a smoker, saying the habit helps him deal with the stress of his job.

Aragon said the PMA, which counts majority of the country’s medical practitioners as members, was a crucial partner of government in nation-building and was promoting public-private partnership.

The PMA is helping, among other things, the pursuit of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) particularly the achievement by 2015 of Philippine targets on child health, maternal mortality and infectious diseases.

Linguine

September 28th, 2010, 05:19 AM

Natural health products take centerstage

(The Philippine Star) Updated September 28, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) View comments

MANILA, Philippines - October, declared as the Traditional Health Month, will not be complete without the staging of the 4th Marpe Health Expo 2010 on Oct. 22 to 24 that carries the theme “Pinoy Herbals: The Natural Way to Health & Wellness.”

The three-day show is organized by the Chamber of Herbal Industries of the Philippines Inc. (CHIPI, whose company-members and products are recognized both here and abroad and collectively contribute about $600 million to the economy annually.

Teresita “Tess” E. Santos, CHIPI treasurer and the overall chairman of the show, said the expo is expected to become the biggest tradeshow in the Philippine herbal industry.

“This expo will be the biggest tradeshow in the Philippine herbal industry,” Santos who is president and CEO of Prosource International, said. She added the event is supported by the Department of Health, the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care and the Department of Trade and Industry.

The 4th Marpe Health Expo 2010, managed by Mil-dred B. Caballero of Trade Advertising Exhibitions and Conventions International Inc. (Tradecon Inc.), the undisputed leader in the events management and organizing industry, will run from Oct. 22-24 at the Megatrade Hall, 5th Level, Mega B, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.

For inquiries, call event manager Tradecon, Inc. at 633-8547; 395-5137; 395-5009 or email at tradecon.inc @gmail.com.

Linguine

September 29th, 2010, 02:58 AM

Noy urged to endorse RH bill

By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated September 29, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (7) View comments

MANILA, Philippines - House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman urged President Aquino yesterday to endorse the Reproductive Health Bill, which he authored.

He said the President should complement his advocacy of voluntary family planning, birth spacing and use of contraceptives by immediately endorsing the RH bill, which the previous Congress failed to approve.

“This endorsement would fittingly cap the Aquino administration’s first 100 days and mitigate early setbacks,” he said.

He said the bill guarantees “the right to make free and informed decisions” on how to plan one’s family, and promotes “without bias all modern natural and artificial methods of family planning that are medically safe, legal and effective.”

Lagman pointed out that the Philippines “is the only middle-income Asian country without a comprehensive reproductive health law.”

“The need to institutionalize by legislation a progressive reproductive health policy is imperative to counteract the vagaries and idiosyncrasies of changing administrations and leaders,” he stressed.

He said the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on improving maternal health includes universal access to reproductive health by 2015.

He noted that the Philippines is one of 189 signatory countries to the Millennium Declaration made 10 years ago this month.

The opposition leader said family planning and reproductive health are interlinked with the other MDGs, particularly with reducing extreme hunger and poverty and reducing child mortality as well as with achieving universal primary education and ensuring environmental sustainability.

He said when the first RH bill was filed in the 11th Congress 10 years ago, the Philippine population was about 75 million.

A decade later, on July 1, 2010, when the measure was re-filed, the population “has ballooned to 93.4 million, or a staggering increase of 19.3 million – an average of almost two million annually,” he said.

Citing the human development report of the UN Development Program in 2009, Lagman said that while the Philippines is the 12 most populous country in the world, its human development index has slipped to 105 among 182 countries.

“A high population growth of 2.04 percent impacts adversely on all indicators of human development like health, education, food security, mass housing, and the environment,” he emphasized. – With Marvin Sy, Evelyn Macairan and AP

boypad

September 30th, 2010, 07:27 AM

100% hike in PhilHealth premiums scored

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:44:00 09/30/2010 :ohno:

MANILA, Philippines—Lawmakers on Thursday asked President Benigno Aquino III to reconsider the government’s decision to increase the premium of Philippine Health Insurance Inc. (PhilHealth), saying it is anti-poor.

Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone and Kabataan party-list Representative Raymond Palatino said the 100-percent increase in premium will discourage indigent families from enlisting as Philhealth members, especially if they will be the ones to pay premium.

Bacolod Representative Anthony Golez, a medical doctor, meanwhile, proposed a “categorized” premium that would vary depending on the income of the member.

“The plan of PhilHealth to increase the premium by 100 percent is anti-poor and anti-people,” Evardone said in a text message.

He said the President should recall the decision of the board to raise the premium because this would only defeat the government’s plan to have a universal coverage.

“Because of the prohibitive cost of enrolment, many won’t be able to afford,” Evardone added.

Evardone, former secretary general of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, said there was no need for PhilHealth to increase the premium because it is awash with cash.

In a separate interview, Palatino said the increase in premium would be an additional burden to the Filipinos, especially if the poor will shoulder it.

Palatino said the conditional cash transfer, the government cash subsidy to the poorest of the poor in the country, will be for nothing if the families would have to pay for the increased premium.

Golez said the increase in premium should be matched with increase in benefits of members. He also said that any increase should be paid by the government, not the poor families.

He proposed a “categorized” premium that would depend on the member’s capacity to pay.

Golez said those who are capable of paying higher premium should be charged more so that they can subsidize a portion of the premium of the poor families. He said this will also unburden the government of shouldering the cost of the premium of the indigents.

In a circular approved by its board, PhilHealth premium contributions for new members will increase from P300 to P600 quarterly or a total of P2,400 per year

Covered by the increase are members who are earning P25,000 a year based on their income tax returns.

boypad

October 5th, 2010, 09:32 AM

^^ Now we are subsidizing those 100,000 newly enrolled Philhealth member...

PhilHealth hikes professionals’ premium :ohno:

Manila Standard Today
by Macon Araneta
October 5, 2010

MEDICAL doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects and other individual-paying members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will have their annual premium contributions doubled starting on Oct. 12.

For next year, the premium will rise by 200 percent, PhilHealth said in circular 24 series of 2010.

The premium rate hike is meant to rationalize the contributions of individual members who have been paying a premium based on a nine-year old schedule, Philhealth president and chief executive officer Rey Aquino said on Monday.

PhilHealth’s individual members, who accounted for 3.5 million or 16 percent of Philhealth’s membership of 21 million, will be made to pay P600 per quarter or P2,400 for one year. The rate will then increase to P900 per quarter or P3,600 annually for next year. IPMs pay for their premium contributions, unlike regular members whose contributions are partly shouldered by their employers.

An individual member whose monthly family income in the last 12 months reached only P25,000 would be exempted from the premium increase, according to the circular. His/her contributions remain at P300 per quarter or P1,200 a year.

To gain exemption from the premium increase, a member has to show proof of income such as his/her tax returns, Aquino said.

Among those categorized as IPMs are accountants, engineers, lawyers, medical doctors, nurses and teachers, while “other professions” refer to artists, businessmen, consultants, media practitioners and athletes.

“For as long as they practice their professions beyond any employee-employer relationship, they can be covered by PhilHealth as IPMs. This means that they have no employer and they are paying their Philhealth premiums on their own. So if they earn above P25,000, they will pay the increase in Philhealth premiums,” Aquino said.

He said it just makes perfect sense to strike a balance between the high and low earning segments of the informal economy and make the IPM program a truly equitable one.

Citing the principle of social equity and solidarity, Aquino stressed that “those who are receiving more should pay more while those who are receiving less should pay less without prejudice to the benefits that both of them are entitled to as active members of the program.”

He cited Section 28 of Republic Act 7875 as amended which states that “all members of the National Health Insurance Program shall contribute to the fund, in accordance with a reasonable, equitable, and progressive contribution schedule.”

RA 7875 as amended is PhilHealth’s enabling law first enacted in 1995.

He said the new premium policy for self-practicing professionals who are registered as IPMs is being implemented by the state-run health insurance agency to rationalize its contribution schedule.

He said the premium adjustment is their timely response to a growing clamor to rationalize the contribution schedule. PhilHealth last increased its IPM premiums in April 2001 from P75 to P100 a month.

President Noynoy Aquino wants a 100-percenthealth insurance coverage of the whole population within three years.

The PhilHealth official also allayed fears that the increase in PhilHealth fees will adversely affect the poor members.

Meanwhile, health groups belonging to the Coalition for Health Advocacy and Transparency urged PhilHealth to implement a socialized scheme in the premium payment of PhilHealth members and stop the planned across increase in premium payment for the individually-paying members next month.

“How can the informal workers and self-employed low-income groups possibly afford the premium payment at double the existing rate? This proposal will perpetuate our long-held problem of inequity in the delivery of health services and will be the complete opposite of the promise of this administration to provide universal health care for all,” said Paula Tanquieng, spokesman of one of the groups.

The groups urged PhilHealth to defer the implementation of the premium increase pending a credible study on the most appropriate mechanism to ensure that the poor who do not qualify as “true indigents” under the National House Targeting system of the Department of Social Welfare and Development will still be covered by PhilHealth.

Linguine

October 6th, 2010, 04:45 PM

Recto: Use PhilHealth Funds to Enhance Healthcare System
October 6, 2010, 8:15pm

MANILA, Philippines (PNA) — With retained earnings amounting to some P110 billion, Senator Ralph G. Recto bared on Wednesday that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) can single-handedly revitalize a public healthcare system ailing from a deficiency in financial resources.

"PhilHealth's accumulated reserved fund is more than thrice the proposed budgetary allocation of the Department of Health for next year, which is about P32.6 billion," Recto said during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance on the budget of the health department.

"If we are to put these funds to better use, then we should focus on using these resources to complement the DoH's efforts to enhance the delivery of healthcare services to the people."

PhilHealth President Rey Aquino told the committee that as of June 20, 2010, the government corporation has a total of P115 billion worth of assets, with liabilities amounting to P6.172 billion.

The senator said that easily, PhilHealth's accumulated income can be used to wipe out the country's healthcare infrastructure deficit.

According to DoH Sec. Enrique Ona, the financial requirement for the upgrade of public health facilities nationwide stands at P19 billion, but only about P7 billion is proposed in its expenditure program next year.

"Imagine how many hospitals, rural health units and barangay health stations can be upgraded and improved if Philhealth chooses to redirect these funds to augment the DOH's budgetary allocation for its facilities enhancement program?" Recto said.

He also added that these funds can even be utilized to accelerate the country's compliance to some of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations.

"And with a retained income of P110 billion, it is well within PhiliHealth's prerogative to increase its members' benefits through the further reduction of out-of-pocket expenses related to health-care, which in some instances reach 90-percent of the total costs," Recto said.

He explained that even with PhilHealth coverage, members or beneficiaries still cough up cash from their own pockets to pay for extra hospital expenses, which should have been already part of the health insurance.

The senator explained that since these funds are not pension funds like those of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), then there is no defensible reason for PhilHealth to hold on to these earnings.

"I can think of a lot of ways in which we can use these funds to improve our healthcare system. The DoH and PhilHealth should discuss how to use these monies," Recto said.

As of June 2010, PhilHealth has a total of 21.65 million registered members, the bulk of which comes from the private sector (7.41 million).

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/280875/recto-u

Linguine

October 7th, 2010, 02:38 AM

GE, Century Ink $100-M Tourism Project

By JAMES A. LOYOLA
October 6, 2010, 5:00pm

General Electric’s subsidiary GE Healthcare, a leading global provider of healthcare information and medical technology, has announced its partnership with property developer Century Properties for the creation of a $100 million world-class outpatient medical-IT building in Makati.

The project will rise in a one-hectare IT park accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority at the 3.4-hectare Century City, the firm’s flagship mixed-use development in Kalayaan Avenue, Makati.

The project is expected to generate 3,000 jobs during its construction and 5,000 jobs upon the start of operations, which is estimated to be in the latter part of 2013 or early 2014.

As a state-of-the-art outpatient medical arts building, the project is envisioned to have the latest technology and equipment that will enable doctors to practice their disciplines with great ease, as well as provide fast and convenient services to local patients and medical tourists.

The building will house clinics of doctors specializing in various disciplines of medicine; floors devoted to diagnostic equipment and services; rooms for aesthetic procedures; post-recovery suites; cafes and restaurants; and spaces for other service providers in health, wellness and preventive medicine.

The GE and Century Properties partnership was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on September 23 at the Sofitel Hotel in New York City which was witnessed by President Benigno S. Aquino III.

“We are optimistic that this assistance of providing advanced medical equipment, best practices and technological solutions will not only boost medical tourism in the Philippines, but also improve the standards of outpatient medical services in the country and make this accessible to more people,” said GE Technology Infrastructure Vice Chairman and CEO John Rice.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/280823/ge-century-ink-100m-tourism-project

Linguine

October 8th, 2010, 10:59 AM

Makati Gives Flu Shots to its Employees

By ANNA LIZA T. VILLAS
October 8, 2010, 4:47pm

MANILA, Philippines – The city government of Makati Friday started giving free swine flu vaccine shots to its thousands of employees as a precautionary measure against the A(H1N1) influenza.

Dr. Ma. Lourdes Salud, City Health Officer, said the vaccination drive, costing P3.4 million, was being conducted upon the directive of Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay.

“Mayor Binay puts a premium on the health and well-being of all local civil servants in Makati because he knows they will not be the only ones who will benefit. Ultimately, our constituents stand to benefit even more because they will be able to enjoy quality and uninterrupted service delivery from the city government,” Salud said.

Salud said the Makati Health Department has purchased 2-in-1 flu vaccines worth almost P3.4 million from Novartis, a research-based Swiss healthcare company. Last Monday, the first batch out of 7,600 employees received A(H1N1) +Flu vaccine shots.

The health chief said the mayor appreciated the importance of keeping the city workforce healthy, particularly through immunization against communicable and even non-communicable diseases, because as frontliners in public service, they handle the implementation of various programs and projects for the people.

“We recognize the continuing threat of influenza and the need to remain vigilant. Our influenza vaccination program is in line with the city government’s commitment to help prevent the onset and spread of life-threatening diseases such as A(H1N1) influenza,” Salud said.

Around 4,000 regular employees and 3,600 casual employees of Makati will be receiving the A(H1NI) vaccine for free starting Sunday. In the succeeding days, employees can receive their shots at the City Employees Clinic or in designated barangay health centers.

In June last year, city workers were given free vaccination against the common flu as part of the city’s plan to mitigate the threat of the A (H1N1) flu virus, for which no vaccine had been developed yet at that time.

Recently, the city government also conducted a vaccination drive against cervical cancer among female employees aged 40 years old and below. Around 1,000 beneficiaries have been entitled to the three doses required for full immunization against cervical cancer.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/281118/makati-gives-flu-shots-its-employees

boypad

October 28th, 2010, 08:56 AM

:bash: Private sector is really the one subsidizing Philhealth Fund..see the news below....

Govt owes P8b to PhilHealth :ohno:

Manila Standard Today
by Eileen A. Mencias
October 28, 2010

THERE have been proposals to expand the coverage of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and increase the benefits to its members, but the Audit Commission says PhilHealth has not been collecting enough premium payments, and that the government alone owes it P8.89 billion in premium contributions for the years 2001 to 2008.

The Senate committee on health on Wednesday conducted a hearing on proposals to establish a children’s health insurance program and universal coverage under the national health insurance program together with the committees on finance, local government and labor.

The Philippines instituted a national health insurance program in 1995 to provide health insurance coverage and ensure affordable health services for Filipinos under the National Health Insurance Act of 1995, which also created the PhilHealth.

Senators Ralph Recto and Edgardo Angara co-authored Senate Bill 55 that aims to establish mechanisms for children’s health insurance, while Senator Loren Legarda authored Senate Bill 2126 that has the same objectives.

Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Antonio Trillanes IV co-authored Senate Bill 18 that aims for the automatic health insurance coverage for all Filipinos.

But expanding PhilHealth’s coverage and benefits is expected to affect its finances. The company must still collect P8.89 billion from the national government, which represents its contribution to the fund as an employer.

The government has a history of not paying its worker’s premium contributions. In 2003 the Government Service Insurance System billed it for billions in unpaid teacher contributions to the fund.

The Audit Commission says PhilHealth has billed the government for its unpaid counterpart premiums as employer of all government agencies. P8.89 billion was due on it in 2009, and P7.4 billion still require verification from various government agencies.

The commission says PhilHealth should have received P3.5 billion in subsidies from the national government under the General Appropriations Act of 2007, but it received only P2 billion. The subsidy is separate from the government’s contribution to the fund as an employer.

RonnieR

November 9th, 2010, 06:17 AM

uzzybabe

November 9th, 2010, 11:19 AM

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Linguine

November 9th, 2010, 05:32 PM

200,000 CAR children to receive health care
By DEXTER A. SEE
November 9, 2010, 9:34pm

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The Cordillera office of the Department of Health (DoH) announced recently that it will be expanding the child health program next year with P2 billion allocation whereby an estimated 200,000 children in the different parts of the region stand to benefit from it.

The Garantisadong Pambata or GP program, a package of health services that has traditionally been given to children below six years, will now be also offered even for school aged children and will also include additional and appropriate services.

Dr. Amelita Pangilinan, DOH-CAR Health Operations Division head, said the 2011 P2-B budget allocated is a welcome development as it stands to help more than 200,000 children in Cordillera.

The 2011 GP budget is about five fold increase compared to the P325 million budget this year. For this year, the GP targets in Cordillera are about 23,000 6-11 months and 183,000 12 to 59 months old children,’ Pangilinan stressed.

The health department is now giving more focus on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals thus child health is one of our priorities,’ Pangilinan said. She explained that the expanded GP program will be big help in child health promotion and for providing enough essential vaccines, micro-nutrient supplements and de-worming tablets.

‘The GP program does not only provide essential vaccines, vitamin A supplements and deforming, it also includes promotion of other health behavior such as maternal health, oral health of children, proper hand washing, proper toilet use and other promotions of essential child health care,’ Pangilinan added.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/286750/200000-car-children-receive-health-care

RonnieR

November 19th, 2010, 09:51 AM

Aquino hikes DOH budget by 13.6%
By Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 11/19/2010 3:03 PM | Updated as of 11/19/2010 3:03 PM

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III on Friday vowed to improve health and social services and insure 4.6 million poor families under Philihealth in three years. To do this, the government has increased the budget for the Department of Health in 2011 by 13.6%

“At present, there is a lack of surgeons in many areas of the country. Public health clinics in rural areas lack not only medical professionals but also adequate health facilities. Worse, some rural folk refuse to seek treatment due to its high cost. This worrisome evidence of poverty – in both body and spirit – is something we are completely committed to reducing through better access to your services,” Aquino said in the 37th World Congress and 61st Annual Convention of the International College of Surgeons at the Diamond Hotel.

Aquino thanked delegates for choosing Manila as the venue of the Congress, inviting them to visit tourist spots and historical sites of the city.

He acknowledged the surgeons for doing charity work and encouraged the surgeons to devote more time service the poor.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/11/19/10/aquino-hikes-doh-budget-136

Linguine

December 8th, 2010, 03:41 AM

Medical City starts construction of hospital complex in Clark

CLARK FREE PORT -- President Benigno S. C. Aquino III yesterday led the groundbreaking ceremony signaling the start of the construction of a new tertiary hospital complex owned by The Medical City (TMC).

The hospital will be built at the Global Gateway Logistic City (GGLC), a mixed-use logistics and business center inside the free port zone.

Mr. Aquino said the establishment of a second hospital here in Clark will allow people in Pampanga and other parts of Central Luzon easier access to the services of The Medical City, whose flagship hospital is in Pasig.

“It is my dream that someday hospitals all over the country can provide the level of quality care that you do on a regular basis,” Mr. Aquino said.

He added that access to adequate health care is one of the key elements in reducing poverty.

The hospital is expected to be fully operational by 2013 addressing TMC’s strategy to expand its presence by developing a national health care network.

Former Health secretary Alfredo R. A. Bengzon, president of The Medical City, said TMC-Clark will serve as the network’s “flagship center” for Central and Northern Luzon.

“Clark, which is situated next to an international airport, provides an excellent platform for building [an] international customer base,” Mr. Bengzon said during the groundbreaking ceremonies.

The ceremony was attended by Dennis Wright, president and chief operating officer of Peregrine Development International, Kuwaiti Sheikh Dauod Salman Al Sabah, KGL Chairman Saeed Dashti, Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President Victor Jose Luciano, and several Cabinet secretaries and top Clark free port officials.

Under the terms of agreement, GGLC will construct the hospital building according to TMC’s specifications. TMC will then lease, equip and operate the facility.

The hospital will be run by a 1,500-strong medical staff complemented by 2,700-member work force.

Mr. Bengzon, who presented an overview of the hospital project yesterday, said The Medical City, through its philosophy “Where Patients Are Partners,” has dedicated itself to “service excellence” as demonstrated by accreditation and certification from the Joint Commission International, the world’s most prestigious and rigorous accrediting body for health care providers.

The Medical City is a tertiary health care organization with over 40 years of experience in hospital operation and administration, serving 40,000 inpatients and 400,000 outpatients annually.

The GGLC project, meanwhile, is a 177-hectare parcel of land designed for aviation-oriented logistics activities and a business park.

GGLC was conceived and developed by an American company, Peregrine Development International, and is being financed by Kuwaiti investment group KGL.

The “logistic city” project is adjacent to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway or SCTEx and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport administered by the state-owned CIAC. -- Rey Garcia

http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=22523

Linguine

December 10th, 2010, 12:36 PM

DoH sets professionalization of 'hilots' as part of RH plan
By JENNY F. MANONGDO
December 10, 2010, 5:29pm

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Department of Health (DoH) has included in its strategies in achieving the Reproductive Health (RH) policy by 2015 the training of traditional birth attendants or the “hilot” to become part of the professional medical teams assigned in the rural areas.

The training for the professionalization of the hilots will begin next year, said Dr. Honorata Catibog, head of the family health office of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC).

Under the Reproductive Health policy of the DoH, all relevant Reproductive Health (RH) services should be available in all DoH-retained hospitals and LGU health facilities by 2015.

The training of the hilots will also enable the DoH to regulate their practice.

According to Catibog, families in many rural areas prefer the care of the hilots versus the midwives in the health centers because of the hilot’s excellent interpersonal skills and caring nature.

“They help deliver the baby but they also help in other things like taking care of the mother. Sometimes, they help bathe the mother, bathe the baby and they even cook,” Catibog told the media in a seminar held here to discuss the milestones in the RH policy of the government and its future plans.

The DoH official acknowledged the lack of midwives in the far-flung areas and revealed that there are only 10,000 to 14,000 midwives in 44,000 barangays in the whole country.

Catibog said the hilots will be taught to craft a birth plan that includes formulating a master list of all the families in her assigned area. She will be responsible in keeping a record of all the pregnant women in the area and in making sure they avail themselves of the government services for pregnant women.

“She will also be taught to do nutrition counseling, family planning counseling, and to give simple messages about health,” Catibog said.

“She will tell the family how to save money even at the first month of pregnancy in order for them to have ample savings when the time for the baby’s birth comes.”

She will no longer be the one who will assist the mother in delivering the baby, Catibog noted. During the counseling, the hilot will help the mother decide which health facility to deliver the baby.

Over the years, the DoH is cutting down on the number of home deliveries to shave the number of maternal deaths and infant mortalities.

Maternal deaths stand at 62 per 100,000 live births while the figure for infant deaths is 25 for every 1,000 live births.

Catibog said the scholarship for the hilots is transferrable to a kin who is deemed most capable of learning the skills of a medical team if the hilot herself is too old to learn or is unavailable for the training.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/292082/doh-sets-professionalization-hilots-part-rh-plan

boypad

December 13th, 2010, 07:55 AM

PhilHealth requirements tightened

Malaya Philippines
December 13, 2010

STARTING July next year, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is set to require its members to have more premium contributions within a one-year period prior to the availment of healthcare benefits

"PhilHealth needs to implement stern policies for the protection of the members. Through this new policy, we can safeguard the funds from possible abuse," said PhilHealth president Rey Aquino.

Based on Circular No. 25, PhilHealth will require nine months of premium contributions within the 12-month period immediately prior to the availment of the benefits.

Under the current policy, a payment of only at least three monthly premiums within the immediate six months prior to confinement is required.

"This is being unfair to those who are paying their premiums religiously. If this practice continues, the national health insurance fund will be threatened," said Aquino.

As an example, he said that under the new policy, if a member needs to use his PhilHealth benefits on July 15, 2011, he/she will be required to present proof of at least nine monthly payments between July 2010 and June 2011.

Aquino clarified that the new policy will not affect PhilHealth members under the Overseas Workers and Sponsored Programs, whose coverage is within the validity period as stated in their Member Data Record or ID cards, as well as Lifetime Members, who are already covered for life without the need to pay any additional premium. – Gerard Naval

Ephesus29

December 19th, 2010, 10:19 AM

Obesity in Young Filipinos Rising

By GABRIEL S. MABUTAS
September 23, 2010, 6:58pm

http://www.mb.com.ph/sites/default/files/obesity_0.jpg

Obesity is now on the rise among Filipino adults ages 20 and up, and threatens to increase the number of people having degenerative diseases, a DoST study showed.

MANILA, Philippines — Obesity is now on the rise among Filipino adults ages 20 and up, and threatens to increase the number of people having degenerative diseases like heart disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, as study conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) showed.

The increase was discovered in 2008 when it registered a trend in the study conducted by the DoST’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

Based on the study, there were about 20 out of 100 adults of both sexes who were overweight 1998. The figure then increased to 24 and 27 out of 100 in 2003 and 2008, respectively.

In the 2008 survey, 2.7% Filipino adults aged 20 years and over are suffering from impaired fasting glucose, while hyperglycemia or high fasting blood sugar (FBS) level is 4.8%.

The prevalence of hypertension among adults is 25%, increasing with age starting from age 40-49 years.

Overweight, when left unattended, may result in many chronic degenerative diseases like heart diseases, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes is a disease characterized by elevated blood sugar levels due to deficiency or absence of insulin which is needed to utilize blood sugar to turn it into energy.

It causes sugar levels in the blood to increase. Individuals having fasting blood sugar level equal to or greater than 100-125 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) are considered having impaired glucose level, while those with blood sugar level equal to or greater than 125 mg/dl are classified as diabetics.

The signs and symptoms of diabetes are numerous including frequent urination, excessive thirst, extreme hunger, sudden weight loss, weakness and fatigue, recurring or hard to heal wound or gum infection, drowsiness, tingling or numbness in hands or feet, itching of skin and genitals, sudden vision changes, and blurred vision.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/278649/obesity-young-filipinos-rising

It is sad, that there is an increase of cases of obesity/diabetes among adults 20 years old and above in the Philippines.

The writing is in the wall. Influx of the western fast foods in the Philippines, like Mc Donalds. A lot of families here in Canada, are now being informed about the effect of fast foods in our health. The Canadian government through its agency (FDA) Food and Drugs Administration, has been monitoring all the foods being sold and served in eateries and restaurant, those products in the market, and being sold in the groceries, about their contents, ie; salt, sugar, saturated fat, and other additives that the agency deem unhealthy. Inability to fallow any guidelines or rules handed down by the agency are penalize by either fines or in extreme cases, cancellation of permits and liscences to do business.

The Ministry of Health in the Philippines should also have the same authority to ensure that every products in market or foods served in restaurants are healthy and nutritious. However, knowing how government operates in the Philippines, they probably complascent for the time being and act when everything is compromise:lol:

However, if we are aware that fast food of any kind, causes this affliction, and we still indulged in it, we are all being naive, and excellent in making excuses. Prevention, through Education and proper information about what we should take in to our body should be, everyone's responsibility.

All of us should be responsible for all the foods we eat. "Healthy and Nutritious" Foods.:)

boypad

January 5th, 2011, 05:50 PM

^^ To those who missed out this latest circular news from PhilHealth

It's 9-over-12 Beginning July 2011-PhilHealth

From: PhilHealth Website
December 8, 2010
http://www.philhealth.gov.ph/media/news/2010/9over_12.htm

EFFECTIVE July 1, 2011, members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) must have nine (9) months' premium contributions within the 12-month period immediately prior to the month of availment to be able to avail themselves of medical care benefits in accredited facilities nationwide.

Through Circular No. 25, series of 2010, PhilHealth will now require employed and Individually Paying Members (IPMs) to comply with this eligibility requirement to avail of their PhilHealth benefits. This new policy applies to availments through hospital confinements, surgical and pregnancy-related procedures, and when availing themselves of outpatient coverage for day surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, among others.

"This policy is in accordance with the provisions of the National Health Insurance Act of 1995. We first implemented this for surgical and pregnancy-related procedures in 2003 for IPMs," according to Dr. Rey B. Aquino, PhilHealth President and CEO. However, he added, "...PhilHealth needs to implement stern policies for the protection of the members" and that "...through this new policy, we can safeguard the funds from possible abuse."

The Circular calls for members to satisfy the "nine months within the immediate 12-month period" contribution requirement before they can avail themselves of PhilHealth benefits. If the month prior to a member's availment is unpaid and it is needed to complete the nine month-requirement, the premium must be paid before the availment.

"For example, a member needs to use his PhilHealth benefits on July 15, 2011. He will be required to present proof of at least nine (9) monthly payments between July 2010 and June 2011, being the immediate 12-month period prior to availment date," Aquino said.

If the member has not yet paid his contribution for June 2011, payment should be done prior to July 15, 2011. "If he pays his premium on or after his availment day, the said payment shall no longer be considered for the said availment but for future ones," explained Aquino.

The new policy will not affect PhilHealth members under the Overseas Workers and Sponsored Programs as their coverage is within the validity period as stated in their Member Data Record or ID cards. "Lifetime Members, on the other hand, are already covered for life without the need to pay any additional premium," the PhilHealth Chief said.

According to the Implementing Rules and Regulation of RA 7875 as amended, sufficient regularity of premium payment is the payment of contribution of at least nine months within the 12-month period immediately prior to the month of availment. "We are preventing the earlier practice of some members contributing only to the program when they need to avail of the benefits. This is being unfair to those who are paying their premiums religiously. If this practice continues, the national health insurance fund will be threatened," Aquino said.

The Circular also reiterated that in addition to the premium requirement, all PhilHealth members may enjoy their benefits provided that no legal actions are filed against them as defined in RA 7875, as amended.

PhilHealth provides substantial subsidies for hospital room and board allowances, drugs and medicines, X-ray and other laboratory exams, operating room fees, and professional fees for qualified availments at any of the 1,366 PhilHealth-accredited hospitals nationwide. (END)

Ephesus29

January 10th, 2011, 09:31 AM

boypad

January 10th, 2011, 06:47 PM

Senate to probe ‘exploitation’ of nurses :ohno:

Malaya Online
January 11, 2011

THE Senate committee on health and demography chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano will hold a joint hearing with the committees on finance, labor, employment and human resources development today on the reported exploitation of nurses in on-the-job training.

The joint panels will take up Cayetano’s Senate Resolution 166 which seeks to investigate reports of registered nurses and nursing graduates who are taken in by certain hospitals for OJT, made to work without even an allowance, and asked to pay these hospitals from P5,000 to P7,000 so they can get the training, work experience and certification required for overseas employment.

"These reported money-making schemes contribute to the problem of local unemployment and underemployment among our nurses and, if found true, is very demeaning to the nursing profession. We also need to see how these questionable practices are dealt with under the existing regulations of the Department of Health which is tasked to oversee the operations of hospitals in the country," she said.

Resource persons invited to today’s hearing include Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, and officials of public and private hospitals, nurses’ associations, and nursing schools.

boypad

January 11th, 2011, 05:18 PM

Collection of ‘training’ fees from nurses illegal :bash:

The Daily Tribune
By Angie M. Rosales
01/12/2011

Some hospitals indeed charge fees for training programs for new nurses but this practice is allowed by both the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Senate probers were told yesterday.

Philippine Hospitals Association vice president Dr. Hermogenes Jarin admitted before the Senate committee on health and demography that it was the first time he had heard of the practice of “volunteerism-for-a-fee.”

In the said hearing headed by Sen. Pia Cayetano, nursing organizations told lawmakers that newly registered nurses and nursing graduates are forced to resort to “volunteerism-for-a-fee,” just so they could earn needed work experience required for future employment here or abroad.

Instead of being employed by certain hospitals as regular staff or as “on-the job trainees” (OJTs), they are made to pay for their training, work experience and certification.

Philippine nursing association president Dr. Teresita Barcelo, said some hospitals have taken to calling the practice as “training programs.”

“These hospitals have found a way of going around this volunteerism-for-a-fee because it is really unethical,” she said.

But problem is no one wants to file a formal complaint or testify against unscrupulous hospitals or health care facilities since the volunteer nurse also benefits by way of getting an employment certificate, she said.

“We keep telling our nurses to stop doing this because it’s illegal,” said Alvin Dakis of the Association of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates International.

Jarin agreed though that it should not be condoned.

Yet, he confirmed that some of PHA members indeed charge fees for training programs for new nurses, a practice allowed by both the Commission on Higher Education and the Professional Regulation Commission.

“I’m not denying that some members are making money (on the training programs) but not all are rotten apples. Nobody is twisting anybody’s arm to participate in these programs.”

Upon the suggestion of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who was attending his first legislative hearing since being released from detention, Jarin promised to call on PHA members to discontinue the practice of collecting fees from new nurses in exchange for short-term work.

Health committee chairman Sen. Pia Cayetano said Ched and the Department of Health (DoH) should also work closely on the guidelines for these training programs.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the problem of nurses’ exploitation boils down to oversupply.

“Many are willing victims. They know they are being exploited but they don’t have other options that’s why this is happening. We should really look very hard on the proposal for a moratorium on (producing) more nurses,” Marcos said.

Health care sector stakeholders said an additional 40,000 new nurses are expected this year, in addition to the more than 100,000 nurses who are “running around without a job.”

Animo

January 11th, 2011, 05:42 PM

At the turn of 2011 Spain introduced yet the toughest anti-smoking law in Europe, practically banning smoking in all enclosed public places, including certain open spaces like parks and school grounds.

Spain, once the Philippines’ master for more than three centuries, broke its carefree attitude toward smoking. Its well-crafted move has been praised by its neighbors in the European Union.

For non-smokers, the new Spanish law is a Christmas gift. For cigarette manufacturers, the law is a scourge to their cash machine. This is precisely the reason why the Philippine Government has been treating soft on cigarette ban. It seems that our government is more concerned with losing revenues derived from tobacco-related taxes rather than promoting public health, so we think.

So far our toughest law is Republic Act 9211, otherwise known as “An Act Regulating the Packaging, Use, Sale, Distribution and Advertisements of Tobacco Products and For Other Purposes.” Basically, RA 9211 is the reason why we are seeing a government warning that cigarette smoking is dangerous to one’s health. It does not, however, impose ban on smoking in public places.

The initiative to altogether ban smoking in public places in the Philippines has to come from the heart of local government officials.

The Local Government Code empowers a local government unit to enact an ordinance to prohibit an act which exactly what the City Government of Davao had done in 2002 when it passed an ordinance that strongly bans smoking in all public places in the city.

Since the serious anti-smoking ban in Davao City, more than 9,000 offenders have been slapped with a fine of no less than 10,000 pesos for the first offense.

The Davao City ban had earned international accolades, one of which was last year’s Global Smoke Free Partnership (GSFP) Award for Governmental Body With Exemplary Leadership in Implementing Smoke Free Policies bestowed by GSFP.

Before Spain banned smoking in public places, Davao City had done the same eight years ago. Isn’t that noteworthy?

Unfortunately, many cities and towns in the Philippines have not taken a serious step in eliminating cigarette use in public areas.

If Davao City has been successful in enforcing an anti-smoking law, there is no reason that the rest of the local government units in the country could not successfully enforce the same prohibition.

The benefits of banning smoking in public places are all too obvious. Smoking harms more severely to second-hand smokers, the non-smokers who happen to be in the presence of a killer (smoker) and lung cancer promoter.

If we ban smoking in all public places in the Philippines we will save millions of lives and we will save millions or even billions of pesos that should rather be spent on good food and quality education, not on cancer treatment, expensive medicine, hospital, and all that.

http://www.theboholstandard.com/editorial.php?issue=199&s1=3398&s2=3402&s3=&s4=1026&s5=3401&s6=&s7=1024&s8=1025&s9=&s10=&s11=&s12=1023&s13=&s14=&s15=

Linguine

January 17th, 2011, 04:57 PM

Hospital owners warn vs talks on ‘exploitation’ of new nurses
Monday, 17 January 2011 20:21 Recto Mercene / Reporter

Members of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (Phap) on Monday cautioned the group’s president against issuing statements not sanctioned by the board, particularly on the issue over the alleged exploitation by both private and government hospitals related to new nurses.

This came after Phap president Rustico Jimenez said in a recent radio interview that private hospitals should not be singled out as “exploiters” of nurses in the country.

During the same interview, Jimenez also challenged the Department of Health (DOH) to investigate government hospitals, claiming that he received information that these, too, hire new registered nurses as trainees and not as regular employees.

Jimenez, likewise, claimed that this practice has been going on for quite sometime, mostly in government hospitals, yet the private hospitals are being singled out.

Jess Contreras, Phap executive vice president and administrator of Capiz Emmanuel Hospital, said the statements made by Jimenez on this issue are entirely his own and does not reflect that of the entire association.

“[The statements made by Jimenez] were not discussed by the board,” Contreras said in a statement. “This problem is complicated and does not only involve the issue of payments but many other concerns which should be taken up by the board before any stand could be made,” Contreras added.

He also downplayed the comments made by Jimenez that Phap is continuously investigating its member-hospitals over allegations that some of them are exploiting nurses, adding that the association will impose heavy sanctions on those found guilty.

Jimenez claimed the heaviest penalty against PHAP members found exploiting nurses would be revocation of their accreditation, meaning they can no longer accept patients.

However, according to Contreras, Phap still has to meet to discuss about any investigations and to address the problem in a holistic manner.

“There has to be a board meeting first before any investigation can be conducted,” Contreras pointed out. “It should not be based on just one pronouncement of one official since Phap is composed of hundreds of private hospitals all over the country.”

“The opinions of hospital members should be gathered and heard first.” 

Contreras said the oversupply of nurses “is a problem we all should look into.”

“This is a new phenomenon and may be caused by a lot of different factors,” he stressed.

Last week a Senate panel began its probe into the alleged exploitation of nurses undergoing OJT, who are not given proper compensation that regular employees enjoy.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/nation/6282-hospital-owners-warn-vs-talks-on-exploitation-of-new-nurses

the glimpser

January 23rd, 2011, 07:32 AM

What ingredients to use for healthier living
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110123-316038/What-ingredients-to-use-for-healthier-living
By Tessa Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:41:00 01/23/2011

MANILA, Philippines—Molecular biologist Custer Deocaris intends to convince young Filipinos to eat more vegetables, fruits and grains to reduce the incidence of obesity and eventually raise students’ brain power.

How will he do it? By explaining his dishes’ ingredients, and making a nation so used to fast food aware of healthier, and possibly life-saving, alternatives.

Toward dawn last Friday at the just concluded Banchetto night bazaar in Ortigas Center, Deocaris found the time to explain the properties of his main ingredients more thoroughly.

His fat-burner meatless burger is made from yakon, mushroom and soybean and served on a country-style malunggay coco-flour bun.

Yakon is a low-calorie root crop known for its copious amounts of oligofructans that regulates fat metabolism via the L-carnitine pathway.

Mushrooms are excellent sources of protein, dietary fiber, potassium and vitamins B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin). Shiitake mushrooms contain lentinan, a chemical that boosts the immune system and protects against various types of cancers.

Soybeans are rich in protein, dietary fiber, calcium and magnesium. “According to the American Heart Association, just 25 grams of soybeans per day is sufficient to significantly lower the risk for heart disease,” he said.

Deocaris described his lugaw made with Gaba brown rice as the first “functional” porridge in the country.

“It reduces the risk of heart disease and lowers blood pressure by inhibiting a protein called Angiotensin H. The pregermination of the brown rice increases the levels of Gaba and steryl glucosides that help prevent diabetes, enhance fat metabolism and even improve brain function,” he said.

For his desserts, Deocaris uses coco sap sugar.

He described it thus: “It’s healthy sugar from coconut inflorescence (flower cluster). It helps improve glycemic and weight control. It is also rich in amino acids, dietary fiber and minerals.”

hakz2007

February 8th, 2011, 06:10 PM

Reminders:

1. Strong reminder on posting images: provide credit, link to source and respect copyrights! (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/announcement.php?f=585&a=1131)

This is a strong reminder to all forum users that posted images which are not owned and hosted by yourself must be properly credited, a link to the source must be provided and individual copyrights respected. Posted images which are not compliant to this are subject to removal. Thanks all for your cooperation.

2. When posting online articles/news items. (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/announcement.php?f=585&a=477)
When posting articles taken from online sources, please also take the time to provide the link as to acknowledge your source. It's only fair and just to do so. Thank you very much for your cooperation on this matter.

All images and news items/articles posted without proper sourcing or linking will be subject for deletion.

Linguine

February 10th, 2011, 04:38 PM

Davao City’s dialysis is PHL’s cheapest, attracts kidney patients
Thursday, 10 February 2011 20:21 Manuel T. Cayon / Reporter 

DAVAO CITY—Hospitals and wellness centers here offer the country’s cheapest dialysis treatment to kidney patients, but a medical director of an upstart wellness center also warned of the increasing trend in the number of kidney patients, including the big number of diabetic patients, who could potentially inflate the number of kidney patients lining up for the ultimate kidney transplant.

 Hospitals and medical centers here charge P1,950 per treatment of two to three times a week to a kidney patient without the PhilHealth benefit.  With PhilHealth privileges, charges would dive to as low as the current rate of P800 per session. This discounted rate is the cheapest in the country, and doctors disclosed that many families from the Visayas have either rented houses for their patients or have moved here.

 Of the nine hospitals here, three now offer dialysis treatment with a combined 93 machines, said Dr. Michael Manalaysay, medical director of the recently opened La Vie Dialysis Center at the FTC Towers in downtown Davao. He said the cheap rate was started in the 1990’s by the late Dr. Gerardo Cunanan, chief of hospital of the Davao Medical Center, now renamed Southern Philippine Medical Center (SPMC).

 “Now all hospitals have to go down to that price to stay competitive,” Manalaysay said.

 The SPMC and the Davao Nephrology Center were the main dialysis treatment centers, with La Vie joining in with 38 machines or stations.

 The number of dialysis machines could be easily overworked, though, as the number of kidney patients at the end-stage renal disorder, or kidney failure, was also observed to be increasing gradually at the rate of 3.9 percent.  As of the third quarter last year, hospitals recorded 2,134 patients.

 “What is troubling us also is the number of young patients already suffering from diabetes. In five to 10 years, expect the number of kidney patients to increase,” he said, explaining that diabetes often leads to other ailments like heart and kidney diseases.

 If untreated, he warned, “two thirds of these diabetic patients would go for dialysis.” “That will make this number of dialysis machines in the city lacking to treat the potential big number of kidney patients,” he added. Many of the patients “are not residents of this city” but come from many other places, including the Visayas.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/7299-davao-citys-dialysis-is-phls-cheapest-attracts-kidney-patients

Ephesus29

February 17th, 2011, 12:23 PM

Food and Drug Administration in Canada and the US, claimed that the common additive (caramel) found in every pop drinks: pepsi, coke and other colas will increase the risk of getting lung, liver, and thyroid cancer. Although Pepsi and Cocacola denies, that their product pose any such risk. :bash:

Askal82

February 17th, 2011, 09:27 PM

Ephesus29

February 18th, 2011, 11:01 AM

Really, so melting sugar can cause cancer? Just wow.

I have to apologized. Should have been "chemically enhanced caramel food colouring" used in widely consumed cola drinks could caused cancer. And not the pure caramel produced from melted sugar. Sorry!!!, According Reuters, (Vancouversun.com)Thursday Feb. 17, 2011, two other approved versions to colour food product include the chemical "amonia" and produce compounds shown to cause various cancers to animal studies, said in statement made by US Center for Science in Public Interest.
The chemical reaction between sugar and amonia can form carcinogens and "still may be causing thousands of cancers in the US population," the CSPI group said.

boypad

March 2nd, 2011, 04:03 PM

PH now one of 7 countries with steadily increasing HIV cases :ohno:

By Nancy C. Carvajal
Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 21:18:00 03/02/2011
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20110302-323139/PH-now-one-of-7-countries-with-steadily-increasing-HIV-cases

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines is now one of the seven countries in the world with steadily increasing cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and most of the new cases are males who got the virus through sex with other males.

HIV is the virus that causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, a disease in which the body’s immune systems are attacked, weakened and undermined. This condition eventually leads to death.

Dr. Enrique Tayag, director of the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health (DoH), made the disclosure during the presentation of the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) 2011 State of the World's Children report at the Sulu Hotel in Quezon City, on Wednesday.

Other countries named to have steadily increasing HIV cases were Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Tayag said during the forum that the predominant mode of sexual transmission has changed since 2007 from heterosexual sex to sex between men.

"From 2007, there has been a shift from heterosexual contact to males having sex with males,'' Tayag said.

He further said that for every one female infected, four men had been infected through homosexual contact.

Since 1984, 6,015 HIV cases have been recorded in the country, according to Tayag.

The DoH national registry shows that 5,158 of the cases are asymptomatic, and 857 have become full-blown AIDS cases.

At least 4,999 are males and 1,305 are females.

Tayag said that in December 2010 alone, 174 new cases were reported, a 38 percent increase from the number of cases recorded in the same month in 2009. They were also the highest number of cases reported in a single month since 1984.

Tayag added that of the 174 HIV cases recorded in December 2010, 14 were overseas Filipino workers, or OFWs, all of them males.

Also, he said, most of the 174 were from the National Capital Region. Three were reported as AIDS cases, and all of them were males.

He explained that the persons with HIV were 25 to 28 years old at the time their cases were registered.

Tayag said sources of information for persons with HIV have been one-on-one counseling, group counseling, videos, pamphlets, Internet and seminars.

He added that infections among young people 15 to 24 years of age also increased 10 times from 2007 to 2010 from 41 cases in 2007 to 489 cases in 2010.

The increase was due to the prevalence of pre-marital sexual activity, he said.

He said sex has been the usual mode of transmission of HIV. Eighty-nine percent of all those infected in the Philippines acquired the virus through sexual contact. The victims’ ages ranged from 16 to 73 years old.

He said other modes of transmission were needle sharing among drug users and mother-to-child transmission. But at least 1 percent of those recorded to be with HIV claimed not to know how they got the virus.

Since 1984, 1,522 OFWs were reported to have the infection, and sexual contact was the predominant mode of transmission, Tayag said.

Nabartek

March 5th, 2011, 05:36 AM

^That is bad. Since we can't really do anything if people involve in premarital and extramarital sex, we should encourage the use of condoms

kalbongdad

March 7th, 2011, 05:02 PM

well kawawa yang mga yan dahil mga misinformed.....sige lang ng sige kala nila lahat ng butas ay puro sarap ang dala....:lol:

off_side

March 14th, 2011, 08:27 AM

Fr. Joaquin Bernas says Ayala Alabang ordinance on condoms "reminiscent of the Inquisition"

Fr. Joaquin Bernas, dean emeritus of the Ateneo Law School, has compared the Ayala Alabang ordinance requiring prescriptions to buy condoms, among others, to the Spanish Inquisition, reports ABS-CBN News.

In a blog entry posted Saturday, Bernas said, "I see what is happening as an attempt by a sector of the Catholic Church to instrumentalize the power of the state to impose Catholic belief on all others. This is something which gives the Catholic religion a bad name."

He added, "Seeking to impose Catholic belief and practices on non-Catholics and others violates freedom of religion. Freedom of religion does not merely mean freedom to believe. It also means freedom to act or not to act according to one's belief. And this too is the teaching of Vatican II in its decree Dignitatis Humanae."

According to Bernas, authors of the ordinance released last month "will say that they are not prohibiting the use but merely regulating the sale. But they insult the intelligence of villagers by thinking that the Alabang residents are village idiots who do not have enough brains to see the truth behind the pretense. One does not have to be a genius to understand that the curtailment of sale is intended to prevent the use of what is sold. And therein lies the gross offense."

Under the ordinance, violators will be penalized with a P1,000-to-P5,000 fine for the first offense, and at least P5,000 for the second offense plus jail time. "Only a real court and not a village kangaroo court or vigilante may impose criminal penalty, and only after trial," Bernas said.

Yesterday, Bernas posted another blog entry for "those who may be thinking that (he) is going against the official teaching of the Church." He quoted a key provision of Dignitatis Humanae: "This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom."

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/fr-joaquin-bernas-says-ayala-alabang-ordinance-condoms-20110313-160000-811.html

frio

March 14th, 2011, 02:21 PM

boypad

March 19th, 2011, 05:13 PM

DoLE approves ‘special leave’ for female employee in private sector :banana:

The Daily Tribune
By Mina Diaz
March 20, 2011
http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110320nat4.html

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) approved the special leave for women working in the private sector who are scheduled to undergo surgery for gynecological disorders.

The guidelines for availing themselves of the special leave privilege are contained in the Department Order 112-11 issued by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz provided for under Republic Act 9710 (Section 18), known as the Magna Carta for Women (MCW).

Baldoz said that the guidelines ensure compliance in the implementation of the special leave benefits for women employees in the private sector.

“The two-month leave is in addition to the leave privileges under existing laws,” said Baldoz.

Eligible for the special leave benefit are women employed in the public sector, regardless of age and civil status, with at least six months’ aggregate employment service rendered in the 12 months prior to the surgery.

The leave may be for a maximum period of two months per year with full pay, based on the employee’s gross monthly compensation following surgery caused by gynecological disorders.

The special leave benefit shall be granted to a qualified female employee after she has undergone surgery, without prejudice to her employer in allowing her to receive pay before or during the surgery.

“It may be used for the period covering the surgery until recuperation. Absence incurred from the pre-surgery period as well as those in excess of the two months allowed under the special leave benefit, may be charged against the employee’s earned leave credits,” Baldoz said.

To apply for special leave, a woman employee shall file her application leave within a reasonable period of time from the expected date of surgery, or within such period as may be provided by company rules or by a collective bargaining agreement.

Gynecological disorders refer to disorders that would require surgical procedures such as, but not limited to, dilation and curettage and those involving female reproductive organs such as vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, breast, adnexea, and pelvic floor, as certified by a competent physician.

The benefit is non-cumulative and not convertible to cash, unless otherwise provided for in a collective bargaining agreement.

The guidelines shall take effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general publication.

spearhead

May 11th, 2011, 11:33 PM

I might as well post it here so everyone can read:

First thing first to keep in our mind, huge question why we need a federalism-parliamentary form of government:

1. Philippines are an archipelago with more than 70 tribes and dialects, and with 3 major religious diversities (RCC, Islam, and Protestants).

2. Philippines are an island-hopping country with more than a thousand islands that are habitable.

3. Filipinos TEND to fight each others, PATAASAN ng IHI kung sino ang mas bida. Visayans against people from mindanao, mindanao against people from luzon, and visayans against people fromn luzon and vise versa.

We filipinos are built to compete each others, we were born with federalism are already in hand, only need to be used and been waiting for decades. Only one former RP president so far have realized this and took it seriously, even tried to implement it.

Accept the truth, we are a natural competitors, and that's why a federalism-parliamentary form of government is the only way to do the job and possibly may catapult us to one of the most dynamic asian country if implemented. But this has to reverse the 1987 constitution, the 1st Aquino administration with their FIRST BIGGEST MISTAKE THEY EVER DONE to ruin the philippine chance to turn around the economy and the lives of every filipinos.

Another thing about federalism, every states now have their own mind to follow, and doesnt have to heed with the RCC of the Philippines' religious belief regarding the birth control system. However only one state may still fall to this idiotic belief, one state that would suffer from over population, and that is the nearest state where the main RCC are concentrated, and it may seem to be the NCR region. The rest they are free to go and FREE TO USE CONTRACEPTIVES and other means of birth control system.

Here is a very good read:

SOME ADVANTAGES OF FEDERALISM*
AND PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT*
FOR THE PHILIPPINES

The restoration of free elections and formal democracy under the 1987 Constitution has* not empowered citizens to check or mitigate our pervasive problems of mass poverty, unemployment, corruption, social inequality, injustice, rebellion, and the environment.* Underdevelopment and population still force legions of Filipinos to migrate as our country lags farther behind our advanced neighbors in the region.

Despite its many positive features that are worth preserving, the 1987 Constitution has not enabled us to rebuild our various institutions for good governance. We continued with our counter-productive unitary system with its powers, authority and resources centralized in the national government at the expense of local governments, leaders, citizens, and entrepreneurs and country-wide development.

We restored our adversarial separation of powers in a presidential system that continually creates conflict and gridlock* between the President and Congress, with a vengeance. Our outmoded form of government and dysfunctional political parties sustain our politics of personality, patronage, cronyism, and corruption and without transparency and public accountability.*

All along, exploiting our discontent, our politicized military and self-seeking politicians foment more discord and political instability. Communist and military rebellion persist, and to a lesser degree military unrest. Ignoring the good news, some sensational media harp on the negative reality and thereby aggravate it.

Our Citizens’ Movement for a Federal Philippines (CMFP) campaign focuses on the lack of “good governance” under our* unitary-presidential system that has* contributed to the aggravation of the people’s condition and problems while benefiting the ruling class, elite or oligarchy. We have called attention to the disadvantages of the traditional highly centralized unitary system and the probable advantages of* changing it with a federal system to improve governance at the national, regional, and local levels.

At the same time we have focused on changing the traditional presidential system to a parliamentary system. We feel that undertaking the vertical structural reform (unitary to federal) simultaneously with* horizontal structural reform (presidential to parliamentary) will create synergy in the improvement of governance. We also make the point that the determined reform* of the party system and the electoral system is necessary for the success of a federalparliamentary system. We likewise recommend a Bill of Duties and Obligations to complement the Bill of Rights, to help citizens and leaders to understand their role in nation-building, governance and development.

The rest of the article here. (http://www.muslimmindanao.ph/conflict/Abueva-Federalism.pdf)

GO federalism!

:cheers:

Animo

May 30th, 2011, 07:41 PM

MANILA, Philippines (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/317563/philippines-and-spain-join-partnership-help-filipino-families) -- It is not only their 350 years of historic ties that link the Philippines and Spain, but the mutual assistance and cooperation that exist to this day between the two countries. They continue to be partners in collaborative endeavors designed to alleviate poverty and provide an improved quality of life for many Filipinos.

One of their projects involves access to health and education services for Filipinos living in many poor communities nationwide. For five years now, the Spanish government, through its Agencia Española Cooperacion Internacional Para el Desarrollo (AECID), has been assisting the Poder y Prosperidad dela Comunidad (PODER) Phase 5 project being implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development to complement the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the government’s centerpiece program on poverty reduction.

AECID is the Spanish agency for international development cooperation, responsible for coordinating Spanish humanitarian assistance around the world. Its current involvement in the country is in adherence to the Fifth Joint Commission between the Philippines and Spain signed on November 30, 2005, the objective of which, among others, is to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Assisted by the PODER program, the Philippine government has completed 112 community development projects in its target areas in the last four years – 42 school buildings, 42 health stations, 27 day care centers, and one road access. The Philippine government cites its partnership with the Spanish government and contributions of local government units and other sectors for the completion of the projects.

More projects benefiting Filipino families are being pursued through the assistance of the Spanish government. With the Philippines’ and Spain’s shared history, values, and traditions , they look forward to a stronger partnership in the years to come.

Nabartek

May 31st, 2011, 06:43 PM

isang malaking pagkakaiba ng espanyol sa pilipino eh hindi sila mahilig maligo, mga pilipino kulang na nga sa tubig, naliligo pa rin. i think the spaniards, should adopt that for better philippine-spain ties. pinoys ar too sensitive and easily offended by people who do not bath. lol

just kidding. i have pinoy friends in spain, yan ang sinasabi nila. :lol:

Ady001

June 1st, 2011, 03:20 AM

^^ Grabe ka ha... :lol:

Nabartek

June 3rd, 2011, 01:40 AM

^^nagsasabi lang po ng totoo. How can you have diplomatic relations when the person next to you is so mabantot. :lol: that is where undiplomatic relations start...sabay ang daming pilipino mahilig magcomment sa maliliit na bagay :lol:

Parchie

June 3rd, 2011, 02:12 AM

this is not good! may mga humahabol pang lolo at lola sa listahan!
we should work harder to address this issue... as a whole, the total number is still irrelevant, but the rate is overwhelming... this is a disaster waiting to happen, unless we start doing something about it right now!

One thing is for sure: DECADENT MORAL VALUES! It will be a long process to reverse whatever societal damage have been done. Kung totoo na humahabol pa ang mga lolo at mga lola, malala na talaga. Di ba't sila dapat ang sasandalan ng ating mga kabataan!

TambayBlues

June 27th, 2011, 06:40 AM

A different way of measuring poverty conducted by the Oxford University in England. I'm glad to say our country's index is not that bad at all compared to other countries with a much larger economy. The people earning less than $1.25/day is about 26% or around 1 out of 4 Filipinos. Check out our country's ranking on the 3rd page.Here's the link; :cheers:

Oxford University's Multidimensional Poverty Index
http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/OPHI-MPI-MDG-Brief.pdf?29870

A Brief Backround on the Multidimensional Poverty Index
http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/MPI_One_Page_final_updated.pdf?29870

The Oxford MPI Measures the following factors;

Inside the MPI

1. Education (each indicator is weighted equally at 1/6)

Years of Schooling: deprived if no household member has completed five years of schooling

School Attendance: deprived if any school
attending school in years 1 to 8

2. Health (each indicator is weighted equally at 1/6)
Child Mortality: deprived if any child has died in the family

Nutrition: deprived if any adult or child for whom there is nutritional information is malnourished

3. Standard of Living (each indicator is weighted equally at 1/18)

Electricity: deprived if the household has no electricity

Drinking Water: deprived if the household has no access to clean drinking water or clean water is more than 30 minutes walk from home

Sanitation: deprived if they do not have adequate sanitation or their toilet is shared

Flooring: deprived if the household has a dirt, sand or dung fuel

Cooking Fuel: deprived if the household cooks with wood,
charcoal or dung

Assets: deprived if the household does not own more than one
of: radio, TV, telephone, bike, motorbike, or refrigerator and do
not own a car or tractor

iloiloMover

July 2nd, 2011, 08:07 AM

Iloilo pilots modern medical records system
from: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/iloilo/local-news/2011/07/01/iloilo-pilots-modern-medical-records-system-164417

A MODERN electronic medical records and inter-facility health system developed by Smart Communications will be launched on July 9 at the Westown Hotel.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona, together with city and provincial officials, as well as executives of Smart Communication, will grace the launching of Project Shine or the Secured Health Information Network and Exchange.

Project Shine will ensure the fast and reliable information from the barangays to the health facility. It was developed by Smart Communications in consultation with the Department of Health (DOH).

The project will cover three DOH charter hospitals, 12 provincial government-owned hospitals, 10 Iloilo City health centers and 13 rural health units.

The system can be accessed by all of its stakeholders -- patients, doctors and other health care professionals, medical resources like pharmacies and diagnostic laboratories, hospitals and health institutions like the DOH and local government units via the Web.

With Shine, health workers can also access the system via GPRS- or 3G-enabled mobile phones that can run Java applications and/or computers connected to the Internet to register patients, record consultations and services rendered or commodities provided and generally access electronic records of individual patients.

Since Shine addresses time consuming and repetitive documentation at the point of care, patients are also expected to benefit in terms of convenience, cost savings, and ultimately improved health.

GodIsNotGreat

August 20th, 2011, 07:00 PM

A doctor purports to show that diet alone can prevent heart attack; this is an ambitious claim. A few others say that to live healthy a person needs to have a disciplined lifestyle in terms of diet, physical exertion, adequate rest, and a stress-free lifestyle.

Filipinos have a tendency to prefer fat-rich dishes. Notice the ubiquity of lechon during celebrations, fiestas and parties.

We need to eat a greater variety of food with more emphasis on vegetables, seafood and fruits.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/08/19/heart.attack.proof.diet/index.html

Nabartek

August 28th, 2011, 11:13 AM

It is not good to throw away meat either. Protein?

Hindi lang sa meat nakukuha ang mataas ng cholesterol. Pati sa stress. May kilala ako bihira kumain ng karne at matatabang pagkain pero nung nagpacheck siya sa doktor tumaas ng tumataas ang bad cholesterol niya dahil sa stress.

Sa ekonomiya ng mundo ngayon, hindi maiiwasan din ang stress unless hindi ka nagtratrabaho at patambay lang

Hindi ako against sa veggies and fruits pero sana wag sila magbigay ng misinformation para lang maiconvince nila ang mga tao sa "causes" nila.

Ephesus29

September 23rd, 2011, 01:41 PM

Meat is good part of everyone's diet. Just stay away from the fatty part of it. Has to be lean. Moderate consumption is the key. Plus a glass of red wine here and there helps too. Adequate excercise should also be integtrated in lifestyle. Too much of good things is bad.

Another culprit is too much consumption of fast foods, specially fries that are cooked with saturated oil. Mc Donald's, pizzas, donuts, etc.

The world we live in will never be stress free. However, there is no such thing as stressful event, it is how we perceived and react on it. :)

Stress sometimes is self-inflected. Take it easy. Life is too short. :)

boypad

September 30th, 2011, 06:18 AM

^^ Most likely private hospital will not accept Phil. Health member due to this news.

Private hospitals buck new PhilHealth rules :ohno:

abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 09/29/2011 11:31 PM

MANILA, Philippines - The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) is up in arms over new regulations of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), which limit payments to hospitals.

The association has warned that patients' bills will go up because of the new PhilHealth rules.

For example, for a weaker strain of dengue, PhilHealth will only give out P8,000 for the treatment of members and their dependents.

New cash payment scheme of PhilHealth:

* Dengue 1 - P8,000
* Dengue 2 - P16,000
* Pneumonia 1 - P15,000
* Pneumonia 2 - P32,000
* Asthma - P9,000
* Typhoid - P14,000
* Dialysis - P4,000

PhilHealth is limiting payments for a total of 23 kinds of ailments and operations.

"Ang dengue, tests pa lang ubos na ang P8,000. Paano pa yung professional fees ng mga duktor?" said PHAP president Dr. Rustico Jimenez.

"Ang tatamaan nito yung ordinaryong tao," he added.

PhilHealth president Dr. Rey Aquino said they have to put a ceiling on payments to protect the funds of members and ensure hospitals do not overcharge.

"Ni-review namin yung average na singil sa 23 sakit... sa mga ospital at tinaas pa namin nang kaunti," he said.

Private hospitals aren't biting.

They've threatened to remove themselves from the list of PhilHealth-accredited hospitals, until sincere discussions take place.

PhilHealth has agreed to the group's demand. - report from Henry Omaga-Diaz, ABS-CBN News; ANC

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/29/11/private-hospitals-buck-new-philhealth-rules

Nabartek

September 30th, 2011, 09:59 PM

^^Increase premiums to increase coverage. Lugi din ang mamamayan kung increase coverage no increase in premiums galing sa tax natin yun.

le Reine

October 1st, 2011, 06:19 AM

^^Ang masakit nito may plano silang i-increase yung premiums pero ganyan na lang yung limit nila. Ano pang sense ng Philhealth?

Nabartek

October 1st, 2011, 06:28 AM

Ipon mo nalang sa bangko... :lol:

Manila-X

October 19th, 2011, 09:50 AM

Rising leptospirosis incidence in Metro Manila noted
By Karen Boncocan
INQUIRER.net
3:30 pm | Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/78815/rising-leptospirosis-incidence-in-metro-manila-noted

MANILA, Philippines—With the rising cases of leptospirosis in Metro Manila, Department of Health Center for Health Development for Metro Manila (DoH-CHD-MM) on Wednesday reminded hospitals to provide Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) to patients suffering from high fever in order to immediately detect the disease.

DOH-CHD-MM Regional Director Eduardo Janairo told hospitals in Quezon City, Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Pasay and Valenzuela to have patients with high fever undergo RDT to prevent the spread of leptospirosis, an infectious disease characterized by fever, muscle pain and jaundice, and in severe cases involving the liver and kidney.

Janairo said that the disease is “preventable and can be treated once it is properly diagnosed.”

Janairo also reminded the public that with the “rainy season far from over, as much as possible, let us avoid wading and spending much time submerging our feet in floodwaters to prevent contracting leptospirosis.”

Recent data culled by the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) indicated an increase in leptospirosis cases from January 1 to October 15 this year with 456 cases and 45 deaths, compared with last year’s 142 cases and seven deaths.

The health department said that San Lazaro Hospital has reported the highest number of cases and deaths at 226 and eight respectively, followed by Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center with 39 cases and four deaths, Quezon City General Hospital with 32 cases and three deaths, East Avenue Medical Center with 25 cases and 13 deaths, Ospital ng Makati with 18 cases and one death, and Quirino Memorial Medical center with 12 cases and two deaths.

The majority of cases affected male patients and those aged 15 to 30, according to the DOH-CHD-MM.

Aside from leptospirosis, Janairo also warned the public against contracting athlete’s foot when they expose their feet to floodwaters.

The infection is “highly transmissible,” said Janairo, who also advised the public “not to wear socks while using wet boots to avoid having blisters.”

“No matter how many times you treat your feet with ketoconazole ointment, once you tread again in floodwaters, the fungal infection will return,” Janairo warned.

Kintoy

November 22nd, 2011, 11:56 AM

The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) is forming an independent committee that will look into a supposed certification by doctors of former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stating that there are no experts in the country who can treat her medical condition.

In a church forum on Tuesday, PMA governor Dr. Leo Olarte said the committee would find out whether such a document—which he said was spreading false information and could hurt the country’s promotion of medical tourism—existed.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/98601/medical-group-to-probe-arroyo-docs-over-%E2%80%98medical-certification%E2%80%99

whippersnapper

November 22nd, 2011, 07:48 PM

vdm60sqm

December 9th, 2011, 01:41 PM

An insult to physicians
PHILIP S. CHUA M.D FACS, FPCS

GLORIA Macapagal Arroyo showed vicious contempt and grave disrespect for the Filipino physicians and healthcare in the Philippines when she and her husband decided the quality of medical care in the Philippines was not good enough for her, the implied reason why they were attempting to go abroad for treatment.

...However, it is obvious that Gloria Arroyo and her husband were simply using the brutal excuse to escape justice, with the help of their lawyers, who are apparently willing to utilize all technical maneuvers to impede the legal process to allow the couple to flee and avoid prosecution....

read: http://www.malaya.com.ph/dec08/edchua.html

the glimpser

December 10th, 2011, 04:28 AM

Philippines becoming int’l healthcare hub

Medical or wellness tourism is a term involving people who travel to a different country to receive treatment for a particular health condition or in other cases pursue activities that maintain or enhance their personal health and well-being to enjoy much lower cost of care, higher quality of care if not different care than they could get at their home country.

It is a huge global business—projected to reach $100 billion (P4.32 trillion) by 2012.

From this figure, a total of $1.3 billion (P56.2 billion) went to the Philippines from 2006 to 2010, thanks to foreign tourists and balikbayans who chose to get their healthcare and wellness services here.

The Philippines wanted to grab a bigger share that is now being enjoyed by countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

During the 1st Philippine Global Healthcare Forum at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Health Secretary Enrique Ona acknowledged that the country already boasts world-class medical infrastructure and facilities (in fact, the top three tertiary hospitals located in Metro Manila even added hotel-quality facilities) as well as highly skilled and compassionate doctors, nurses and medical personnel.

Another advantage the secretary cited was the fact that the Philippines has the added competitive advantage of having English-speaking medical personnel.

Convened by HealthCORE, a private corporation specializing in healthcare research and communications and the official Philippine representative of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers of India, the 1st Philippine Global Healthcare Forum discussed and exchanged information on how the Philippines, with the help of India, can develop into an international healthcare hub.

India is regarded as the medical tourism capital of the world, offering the latest technological advances, experienced and expert physicians and surgeons and world-class patient care.

During the forum, India’s Dr. Sanjiv Malik said the Philippines becoming a regional giant is something that is very achievable as the country already has a caring people.

“Your Filipino nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals give the highest level of caring and compassion to patients—it’s in your DNA. What you need to do next is to modify your present healthcare practices and systems to conform with international benchmarks. When you do that, you are already on your way to providing the best healthcare to your people and to becoming an international healthcare hub,” he advised.

http://business.inquirer.net/34321/philippines-becoming-int%e2%80%99l-healthcare-hub

Manila-X

December 15th, 2011, 08:10 AM

Philippines becoming int’l healthcare hub
By: Charles E. Buban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:27 am | Saturday, December 10th, 2011

http://business.inquirer.net/34321/philippines-becoming-int’l-healthcare-hub

Medical or wellness tourism is a term involving people who travel to a different country to receive treatment for a particular health condition or in other cases pursue activities that maintain or enhance their personal health and well-being to enjoy much lower cost of care, higher quality of care if not different care than they could get at their home country.

It is a huge global business—projected to reach $100 billion (P4.32 trillion) by 2012.
From this figure, a total of $1.3 billion (P56.2 billion) went to the Philippines from 2006 to 2010, thanks to foreign tourists and balikbayans who chose to get their healthcare and wellness services here.

Expensive medical treatment costs, as well as limited healthcare coverage in countries such as the United States and a number of countries in Europe, along with capacity constraints in these countries’ healthcare facilities, are driving their citizens to seek elsewhere for more accessible, affordable and comparable medical and wellness services.

The Philippines wanted to grab a bigger share that is now being enjoyed by countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

During the 1st Philippine Global Healthcare Forum at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Health Secretary Enrique Ona acknowledged that the country already boasts world-class medical infrastructure and facilities (in fact, the top three tertiary hospitals located in Metro Manila even added hotel-quality facilities) as well as highly skilled and compassionate doctors, nurses and medical personnel.

Another advantage the secretary cited was the fact that the Philippines has the added competitive advantage of having English-speaking medical personnel.

Convened by HealthCORE, a private corporation specializing in healthcare research and communications and the official Philippine representative of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers of India, the 1st Philippine Global Healthcare Forum discussed and exchanged information on how the Philippines, with the help of India, can develop into an international healthcare hub.

Medical tourism capital

India is regarded as the medical tourism capital of the world, offering the latest technological advances, experienced and expert physicians and surgeons and world-class patient care.

During the forum, India’s Dr. Sanjiv Malik said the Philippines becoming a regional giant is something that is very achievable as the country already has a caring people.

“Your Filipino nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals give the highest level of caring and compassion to patients—it’s in your DNA. What you need to do next is to modify your present healthcare practices and systems to conform with international benchmarks. When you do that, you are already on your way to providing the best healthcare to your people and to becoming an international healthcare hub,” he advised.
He related that when India improved its international healthcare services, its entire healthcare sector also improved.

Upgrade

“India was able to upgrade its healthcare system to international standards. As a result, both overseas patients and Indian patients are now receiving international quality health services and medical treatments at prices that are affordable to them,” Malik said.

India and the Philippines are now working together under a memorandum of understanding to exchange knowledge, expertise and training in various areas of healthcare and medicine for their mutual benefit.

These areas include medical education, public health, hospital management, health tourism, drugs and pharmaceutical products, medical consumable products, medical equipment, communicable disease control and surveillance, and traditional and alternative medicine.

A much-improved medical tourism, forum guests acknowledged, will have immediate effect in improving the country’s economy, much like the business process outsourcing industry is doing at the moment, while retaining its medical talents in the country and reducing the brain drain and its social and economic costs.

Ady001

December 15th, 2011, 08:42 AM

d ko alam kung san ko ipopost to. baka OT ako dito..

matanong ko lang po, baka may nakakaalam kung kelan next exam sa Civil Service Commission at kung ano ung scope ng exam.. maraming salamat..

wala ata tayong thread para sa mga gov't offices/ agencies like SSS, GSIS, Philhealth, CSS etc. or under na ng executive department thread>>

You can check it in their website man. Usually it's done twice a year, mainly around Feb-March or Sept-Oct. They have their own website.

Just a tip: Basa ka lang ng basa, be aware, and be a logical thinker. you'll need to stock up a lot of stock knowledge for this. I can't say it's a no brainer because my younger brother who passed the nursing exam did not pass the professional level.

OT na maciado, back to the regular programming.

mikael21

December 28th, 2011, 03:06 AM

well kawawa yang mga yan dahil mga misinformed.....sige lang ng sige kala nila lahat ng butas ay puro sarap ang dala....:lol:

^^
true, instead na sarap butas ng pasakit ang nakuha nila:lol: marami talaga ang active pag ganyan ang usapin, hindi iniisip ang maaring idulot nito sa kanila kapag hindi sila nag ingat.

mikael21

January 3rd, 2012, 12:44 PM

At least five people have died of leptospirosis in the aftermath of Typhoon Washi in the southern Philippines, officials say.
According to the Department of Health, 128 people in Cagayan de Oro City have also been diagnosed as of 1 January.
Leptospirosis is caused by Leptospira bacteria found in water contaminated by animal urine in warmer climates.

more... (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16388238)

epik ll ian

January 5th, 2012, 05:13 AM

Are there any threads here regarding Filipino traditional medicine?

mikael21

January 5th, 2012, 12:29 PM

^^
:dunno:wala ata

tigidig14

January 24th, 2012, 08:12 AM