In its latest webicon last September 9, Cardinal Santos Medical Center brought together medical professionals to discuss the different challenges and opportunities that the Department of Health (DOH) faces.
The panel of speakers consisted of former DOH Secretaries Dr. Esperanza I. Cabral and Dr. Manuel M. Dayrit, former DOH Undersecretary Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, and the current President of the Philippine Medical Association Dr. Minerva P. Calimag. The webicon was moderated by the President of the Philippine College of Physicians, Prof. Diana A. Payawal.
Dr. Cabral provided a discussion on the Universal Healthcare Law. She said that the pandemic “magnified existing gaps in the healthcare sector”. For her, the bright side is that “the acknowledgement of these gaps has provided some impetus for the government to fast track the implementation of universal healthcare initiatives and opened opportunities for additional funding of health programs and services.”
Dr. Dayrit shared his insights on healthcare financing and how to facilitate the effective alignment of policies, programs, and funds. He named some challenges and opportunities for the DOH:
Challenges:
- Better DOH financial management in the form of efficient and effective alignment of budgets of various health agencies to DOH priorities from 2023 to 2028.
- Philhealth management to put in place more responsive policies, benefit packages, and operations
Opportunities:
- To move from chronic underinvestments in health to sufficient and sustained investments in public health
- Reduce out-of-pocket expenses by moving closer to Health Financing transition
Dr. Herbosa commented that the logistics and supply chain management should be focused to prepare for the next pandemic. He commented that currently, there is no alignment in the mindset of stakeholders. As example, he said that continuing the mask mandate is DOH’s preference but LGU officials think otherwise. He said “What happened during the COVID-19 pandemic showed us that many things can be done through digital technology,” he stated. “Digital technology can be used to fast track the implementation of services to remote areas via telemedicine and digital health services. This can help make Universal Healthcare a reality.”
Dr. Calimag talked about health human resources, and what improvements can be made to the distribution of doctors and nurses in the Philippines, especially to the more remote parts of the country. “Most healthcare professionals are centered in cities. And yet, we have many geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas,” she stressed. “Healthcare reform will demand a shift towards a new breed of generalists to meet healthcare needs and absorb the impact of increased access to care under Universal Healthcare.”
The webicon ended with some remarks from Dr. Pagdanganan, CSMC President and CEO, who commented on the need to increase the equity base of PhilHealth. “The government has guaranteed that every person will be enrolled in PhilHealth. Having said that, there must be a commitment to paying the premium of the PhilHealth members who cannot afford to pay it. That is one way of increasing the equity base of PhilHealth.”