DOH bats for upgrade of hospital facilities

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines ranked below other countries in Asia and the Pacific as far as the national health data is concerned, according to the Department of Health.

“The health information that other countries have is really awesome…and ang problem sa atin dito is I think we’re blind at this time in the Philippine with the data in terms of capabilities and availabilities. Data and information are an area that needs to be improved,” said DOH Assistant Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell Ubial during the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation Seminar on Trade and Health Services yesterday at the Shangri-La Mactan.

Ubial said that other countries know the exact data such as the number of tourists that they have attended to for medical assistance in a month, and the amount of health professionals they exported to other countries.

She said there is a need to upgrade the country’s hospital facilities to meet with international standards.

Hospitals cited by Ubial as having international accreditation include the Medical City Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, Manila Doctors’ Hospital, Asian Hospital, National Kidney Transplant Incorporated, and the Philippine Heart Center.

Ubail said that unlike the Philippines, other countries are capable to determine their “trade in balance if they are having a deficit or their trade is on the advantage.”

“If the information is available for us, I think we can also look at the balance of the trade kasi in other countries they know how many people are coming in and how much dollars they are bringing into their economy... kulang tayo sa info and we don’t have a clear picture,” Ubail explains.

“But hindi ko rin masasabi na we’re on the disadvantage, we just can’t assess on were we stand kase kulang tayo sa info,” she added.

The three-day seminar, which started last Tuesday and will end today, gathered delegates from APEC member economies: Brunei Darussalam, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

During the second day yesterday, an objective was discussed to come up with the consensus for policy direction for APEC to pursue a regional and international forum for them to get a consensus on trade and policy.

The two policies are the Policy on Medical Tourism and the Portability on Health Insurance in which overseas Filipino workers can be covered by the health insurance.

Since health security is a high priority in APEC, the seminar aims to serve a venue (1) for the exchange of information on the developments and issues in health service trade among APEC member economies; (2) for the exchange of experiences on policies, practices and processes in addressing various issues as these impact on health service trade and liberalization and; (3) to identify immediate and future cooperation among APEC member economies. — Antoniette T. Parce/LPM   (FREEMAN NEWS)