Philippine Health

Situation and ICT

Prepared by
Catherine M. Catamora
Looking At: Philippine Health
Situation
• 50% of the population has no health care
access.
• 5 out of 10 Filipinos die without getting any
medical attention.
• Only 60% of the population has full access
to essential drugs.
• 10 mothers die daily due to pregnancy-
and childbirth-related causes.
• Forty percent of all births are still
unattended by health professionals.
• More than 100 municipalities remain
doctorless and nurseless at any time
during the past ten years.
Scarcity of Human Health
Resource
Philippines is the major exporter of nurses worldwide
• From 1994-2003: >100,000 nurses have left to
work abroad
• 85% of Filipino nurses work abroad in some 50
countries (approx. 163,756 nurses in 2003)
• increasing and deteriorating quality of nursing
education:170 (1990s)  251 (2003)  470
(2006)
• Doctors becoming nurses to go abroad
• Obstetricians and anesthesiologists are
rapidly depleting, followed by pediatricians
and surgeons.
• Nursing as a “second course”
• Hospitals in Mindanao and Isabela also have
no doctors
 Figure 2. Trend of Deployment of Health Workers Abroad, 1992-2003

DENTISTS
20000

18000 DIETITIANS AND PUBLIC

HEALTH NUTRITIONISTS

16000
DOCTORS MEDICAL

14000
MIDWIVES PROFESSIONAL

12000
NURSES PROFESSIONAL
10000
OPTOMETRISTS AND
P

8000
tinu
p
o
la

OPTICIANS

6000 PHARMACISTS

4000 PHYSIOTHERAPISTS AND

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS

2000
TECHNICIANS MEDICAL X-RAY

0
CAREGIVERS AND
CARETAKERS
Where do they go?
• Traditional Markets: Middle East, North
America
• New Markets: Europe especially UK,
Netherlands, High Income Asia
• Emerging Markets: Japan and Nurse
Education abroad
Proposed solution to the situation
• Regulate the outflow of health professionals
• Increase health budget, improve the salaries &
working conditions of health
workers/professionals
• National Health Service Act (2-year service in
the Philippines)
• Compensation from receiving countries
• Bilateral agreements with Receiving Countries
• Establishment of Health professional registry
• Development of new career opportunities
IT in Health care another
solution…
• improving health services through IT
• Improved health through data for evidence-
based decision-making
• Better measurement, through strengthened
health information and statistical systems
• Network to unify partners and resources for
improved health information
• Better data - better decisions - better health
On going projects in IT
• Regulatory – BFAD, Drug testing..
• Service delivery – Hospital operation,
Blood Bank, Filariasis, Malaria, disease
registries, surveillance systems..
• Governance- Procurement & Logistics
Management, e-NGAs, KM tools, Work &
Financial Plan Health Atlas, Local Health
System, GIS, HR..

VALDEZ, 2007
 Health Information
System
• Public health data Comprehensive
• Hospital data Approach
•Disease Surveillance
•Health Accounts
Health
•Censuses Information
•Vital Statistics System
(ICT)
•Survey Data
•Regulation Data
•Administrative Data
•Qualitative Data such as Good
Practices
•Journals, Manuals, other gray
materials
VALDEZ, 2007
Activities Undertaken
• Establishment of Philippine Health Information Network
(PHIN)
• Customization of Health Metric Network (HMN)
assessment tool
• Central office inventory of existing ISs
• NEC started integration of Disease Surveillance
Systems
• BLHD spearheading skills development &
documentation of good practices
• Draft framework for ISs technical integration
• Development of the Knowledge Management (KM) for
Health Strategy
• KM tool kits defined and started development
• Health portal (interactive website)
 Philippine Health Information
Network
• DOH • DILG
• NSO • WHO
• NSCB • GTZ
• PCHRD • JICA
• UPCM • Academe
• POPCOM • Medical societies
• National Nutrition
Council
• FNRI
 PIHIS Strategic Framework
Data Beneficiaries
National Other Government Private Research Other
DOH Academe
Government Agencies Organizations Groups Stakeholders

Information Access

ICT Infrastructure - Systems Integration - Data Management

Department of

Health
Health Regulation
Health

Governance
Systems
DOH Data Systems
Health Program Warehouse Health Service
Management
Delivery Systems
Systems
Information Access
Standard Data Indicators, Definitions,
Formats, Transmission Protocols, Policies
and Guidelines
Standard Source of Data
Providers
Service

RHUs Pharmaceutical Drug Test Other Health

Clinics Hospitals Laboratories
/BHSs Companies Centers Facilities
Principle: Build upon existing systems of health information to allow integration
of content and functions.
Helping to improve health
situation using ICT
• Participate in ICT projects concerning health
• Contribute in information dissemination
• through Social networking sites
• through IM’s
• Emails, portals, advertisement
• Become socially aware
• Help develop health information systems
for faster data access
References:
• http://affleap.com/search/state-of-affairs-philip
• http://www.expatforum.com/articles/health/he
• http://www.allianzworldwidecare.com/healthc
• http://www.up.edu.ph/oldforum/2005/Jul-Aug0
• http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/regional/asiathe