Healthcare in the Philippines
Panel Discussion as a Final Project
1. Group yourselves into 5 groups.
2. Choose 1 topic from slides 2 to 6.
3. Members of the Panel are:
Hosts - (2 hosts if only 1 facilitator) open and close the session: ll in if facilitator will be out
Discussants - discuss the chosen topic by providing facts, suggestion/solution
Facilitators - (2 facis if only 1 host) interviews the discussants
Synthesizer - (1) points out the highlight of the discussion and gives re ection/realization
4. Discussion is for 10 minutes only.
5. This is a Live activity.
fl
fi
6. Presentation will on Dec. 6 to 10 respectively.
1. The WHO refers to the Filipino Healthcare System as “fragmented.” There is a history of unfair
and unequal access to health services that signi cantly affects the poor. The government spends
little money on the program which causes high out of pocket spending and further widens the gap
between rich and poor
fi
.
2. Out of the 90 million people living in the Philippines, many do not get access to basic care. The
country has a high maternal and newborn mortality rate, and a high fertility rate. This creates
problems for those who have especially limited access to this basic care or for those living in
generally poor health conditions.
3. Many Filipinos face diseases such as Tuberculosis, Dengue, Malaria and HIV/AIDS. These
diseases pair with protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient de ciencies that are becoming
increasingly common
.
fi
.
4. The population is affected by a high prevalence of obesity along with heart disease
5. Healthcare in the Philippines suffers from a shortage of human medical resources, especially
doctors. This makes the system run slower and less ef ciently
.
fi
.
6. Filipino families who can afford private health facilities usually choose these as their primary
option. Private facilities provide a better quality of care than the public facilities that lower income
families usually go to. The public facilities tend to be in rural areas that are more run down. These
facilities have less medical staff and inferior supplies
8. Only 30 percent of health professionals employed by the government address the health
needs of the majority. Healthcare in the Philippines suffers because the remaining 70 percent of
health professionals work in the more expensive privately run sectors
.
fi
9. Healthcare in the Philippines is considered to be of good quality by international standards. For
instance, the World Health Organization ranks the ef ciency of the Filipino healthcare system
60th in the world. Meanwhile, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, using medical access and
quality as their criteria, ranks the Philippines 124th in the world. Regardless of the assessment
criteria, the healthcare system in the Philippines is steadily improving.
fi
10. There is a signi cant shortage of health personnel in the country. The PSA reported a ratio of
one government physician to 33,000 Filipinos, which is far from the WHO recommended 1:1,000
doctor to population ratio. In 2016, the DOH said that the country is in need of 15,000 doctors to
meet the healthcare needs of Filipinos each year.