Helping improve quality of healthcare across Southeast Asia

Despite initiatives to improve the current state of the Philippine healthcare system, 60 percent of Filipinos who succumb to sickness die because quality healthcare remained elusive to them.

How elusive it is can be evident in the fact that the doctor-to-patient ratio in the Philippines stood at almost 1.2 : 1,000, compared to the required ration of 2.5 : 1,000, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

And while the Aquino administration is aware of the challenges and difficulties being faced by the Filipinos, especially the underprivileged, when it comes to healthcare, the reforms that the government tries to implement may not be enough to completely change the landscape of this sector.

Fortunately, private companies and organizations are joining hands to realize the dream of providing adequate and quality healthcare to all Filipinos.

Specific challenges

Philips Healthcare Solutions recently hosted the 4th Asean Symposium on Access to Healthcare in the Philippines, which was aimed at solving and addressing specific challenges across Southeast Asia. These challenges included sustaining quality healthcare for aging populations, improving access through developing a framework for the future, and changing current practices to suit advances in medical technology.

“The annual Asean Symposium on Access to Healthcare (had brought) together leaders in Southeast Asia to reflect on how both public and private organizations can help improve the quality of healthcare across the region,” said Wayne Spittle, senior vice president and general manager for Philips Healthcare, Multi-Country Region Asia Pacific.

“Philips is proud to see that the symposium has evolved into an industry platform, bringing together key healthcare stakeholders across Southeast Asia to discuss challenges and solutions for helping this fast-growing region overcome its healthcare challenges,” he added.

The 4th Asean Symposium on Access to Healthcare was held last Sept. 21 and 22 in Manila, during which industry professionals shared their opinions on how countries could develop sustainable partnerships and realistic roadmaps, improve existing processes, ensure continuous application of the latest medical technology and the role of the government.

Also discussed during the event are the key issues impacting access to quality healthcare in Asia such as increasing costs, an ageing population, limited resources and remote communities.

Discussions at the symposiums covered ways to ensure that health services adequately meet the needs of communities going forward; healthcare reform with changing government regulations and liabilities. Standards and systems; public and private cooperation; challenges in converging technology, telecommunications and data communications; and enhancing open innovation were also discussed.

Panelists also discussed how emerging technologies will change the way healthcare is provided today, and how healthcare systems need to change to stay relevant, amid the increasing advances in medical technology.

Commitment

“As a company focused on the health and well-being of the society, Philips is committed to develop new services and business models, including lower-cost technology and solutions, to help address Southeast Asia’s healthcare delivery challenges by accelerating access to affordable products,” Spittle noted.

At present, Philips Healthcare Solutions offers hospitals innovative partnership approaches to help control costs, improve services and eliminate the risk associated with the investment in healthcare technology. In the Philippines, Philips Healthcare has worked with hospitals in both the private and public sector, including the new National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) and St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC).