Healthcare and Human Welfare Systems

[Maxxclip]

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 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]

DepEd, UNICEF launch interactive video on STIs, HIV, AIDS

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]

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]

Doctors push for mercury ban in health care

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]

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]

posted by:bacolodchamp

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

BACOLOD HEART, LUNG & KIDNEY CENTER

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]

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=...d=7&rid=264418

[Maxxclip]

Originally Posted by bonixx

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,” she said.

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

[red_jasper]

Home birthing is coming back even in urban areas
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]

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=...d=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=...d=7&rid=266081

[hakz2007]

From The Oasis (African Forums).

Originally Posted by cyberManHere

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 Kaya dapat paig-tingin ang kampanya against smoking.

[Retro]

'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]

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]

that's a lot of Pinoy smokers.


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]

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

[Retro]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

Source