Aubrey Unique M.

Evangelista
1st year JMCM

What is primary health care and its relation to universal health care?
As a medical student, what impact can I create in implementing PHC and UHC?

Primary Health Care delivers the person’s physical, mental, and social well-being health
needs through the approach of the 3 levels of care which is primary care that focuses on health
promotion and disease prevention, secondary care which centers on early treatment of patients
to prevent complications, and tertiary care which concentrates on rehabilitation and palliative
care on patients. It is a strategy which focuses responsibility for health on the individual, the
family, and the community. In the Philippines, with the devolution of health services, the
responsibility for primary health care has been delegated to the Local Government Units
(LGUs). Which means that the local health system is now ran by the LGUs. Its vision focuses on
“Health in the hands of people by year 2020”, which may be “partially” achieved due to the
implementation of the Universal Health Care law in the country.

RA 11223 or the Universal Health Care law was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte
which will ensure that all Filipinos are guaranteed easy access to quality and affordable health
care services (including prevention, promotion, treatment and rehabilitation) as well as financial
protection from any medical health services. Access to health services guarantees healthier
Filipino population while financial risk protection is a prevention for Filipinos to be pushed into
poverty line. Aside from the benefits mentioned above, universal health care is important for
reduction of poverty in the country and an element in reducing social inequities. With this law
implemented in the country, every Filipino citizen will be automatically enrolled in the National
Health Insurance Program or better known as PhilHealth by most Filipinos without the need to
pay for membership. In relation with this, focus was placed on the role of primary health care to
achieve universal health care. Health for all people is an essential need, which is their vision,
that should be incorporated into framework for delivering care centered for patients that is
efficient, fair, and cost-effective. With both primary and universal health care in the country, it is
expected that Filipinos will live longer lives and the life expectancy of Filipinos will increase
making the Philippines as the 1st in the ranking of average life expectancy in Southeast Asia by
the year 2022.
 As a medical student and a future health care provider that would assist patients in their
health concerns, the impact I can create in the implementation of the primary health care and
universal health care, especially considering the fact that I am living in the Philippines, is that I
can deliver the quality care every patient that comes in the hospital deserves regardless of
what their financial status are. I can provide the patients with medical, mental, emergency or
any type of health services they need for their recovery or improvement of their condition
without them feeling that the intervention given to them is expensive or difficult to access in their
area. Plus, as said earlier, the benefit of implementing the universal health care in the
Philippines is that Filipinos are automatically members of PhilHealth unlike before that payment
is needed to become members.