Aceituna, Frenn Stem12-3 Pt1 (Ucsp)

Health Care Availability: The Philippines' Medical Services to the Filipinos
Health care availability in our country is currently a major issue that needs to be
addressed immediately. Out of the 90 million people living in the Philippines, many do
not get access to the basic health care. Especially in this time of the pandemic, many
Filipinos are not able to receive medical treatments due to sociological factors and a
weak health care system, as criticized by the World Health Organization. The
Philippines has a high maternal and newborn mortality rate, and a high fertility rate,
which creates problems for those who have limited access to the basic health care or
for those living in generally poor health conditions. Moreover, health care in the
Philippines suffers from a shortage of human medical resources, especially doctors,
which makes the system run slower and less efficiently.
Furthermore, Filipino families who can afford private health care services usually
choose these as their main option. Private facilities provide a better quality of care and
medical treatments than the public facilities that lower-income families usually go to.
The public sector focuses its efforts on preventive care and primary care, while the
private sector has focused on offering more specialized services and treatments, which
are highly needed for COVID-19 treatments. However, the public facilities have less
medical staff and inferior supplies, which makes it difficult to treat all patients of COVID-
19 cases in the country. Also, health care in the Philippines suffer because 70 percent
of health professionals work in the more expensive privately run facilities. Although
advances have been made to improve health care in the Philippines, there are still
many issues that the country has yet to overcome to achieve a high quality, cost-
efficient health care system and availability.
For a deeper understanding with this phenomenon, sociological research has greatly
contributed in improving the definition of health care through the studies of how social
structure impact the availability of health treatments, and the health care delivery
system in our country. It has enhanced our understanding of medical and health
policies, including how unequal access to health care services can result to social
inequalities in well-being. In addition to that, Sociologists have contributed much to our
understanding of the ways that culturally and historically shaped social forces can affect
the behavior of health care providers and consumers, resulting to health care
inequalities across different social groups.
In relation to the history of health care services, decades of studies by sociologists
suggests that people with less income and education face greater challenges in
accessing health care services than people that are more well-off in life, despite having
higher health care needs. Among these studies, it should be noted that the history of
medical sociology implies that reducing equality regulations that are implemented by the
government in the health care aspect, will only result in the limition of access to health
services for the most vulnerable, the increase of health care inequalities, and the
weakening of the health care system in our country. In particular, using the past studies
and information as a basis for a solution to address the health care availability problem
in the Philippines will result to a better system in distributing medical services for the
Filipinos.
In the Political Science aspect of this phenomenon, some have argued that the key to
better outcomes in our county is the strong role of the government in regulating the
delivery of health services. Apparently, not only does the government guarantee access
to health care through a strictly regulated non-profit health insurance system, but they
also support and manage the distribution and quality of important health resources.
Clearly, increasing equal regulations among the Filipinos requires the government to be
informed about the best new directions for health policy and practice. While many argue
against an expanded role of government in health care because of fears of limiting
access, it is also a fact that the government pays for nearly half of our national health
care expenses.
To possibly attain a better health care distribution system, policy makers should identify
locations for building facilities, increase funding, and expand services that are useful to
those in underserved communities. In relation to the health care availability in under-
resourced facilities, it may be an effective strategy if the provision of the use of primary,
preventative, and follow-up health care among those patients that are currently relying
on emergency room services is prioritized. In this regard, sociological research is
important because it emphasizes that quality care is determined not only by what
services are provided, but also how they are delivered, by whom, and to whom.
Particularly, the Philippine Government should become more involved in regulating the
delivery of health care services to the Filipinos.
Over the past few years, social sciences, specifically medical sociology, has improved
our understanding of the structure of the Philippine health care distribution system and
the wide range social factors that are involved. More importantly, social sciences has
put a spotlight on how the distribution and delivery of health care services contributes to
social inequalities and health care imbalance across many social groups and
communities in our country. The poor health care availability in the Philippines and the
lack of coordination suggests a need for a more centralized management, something
that the health care system has not been able to achieve on its own. Furthermore,
sociological influences on health services highlights the need for a stronger role of
government in coordinating and managing the health care availability in the Philippines.
Thus, it is necessary to focus on improving the quality and organization of services and
facilities that benefit those in remote rural areas, individuals near or below the poverty
line, and members of disadvantaged minority groups. One of the goals, then, is not only
to provide Filipinos with a universal access in the health care services of the private
sector, but also to lift and improve the public facilities up to the standards of the private.

Aceituna, Frenn Stem12-3 Pt1 (Ucsp)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Aceituna, Frenn Stem12-3 Pt1 (Ucsp)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Aceituna, Frenn Stem12-3 Pt1 (Ucsp)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Health Care Availability: The Philippines' Medical Services to the Filipinos

You might also like