LESSON 3

PHILIPPINE HEALTH CARE AND THE

PHILIPPINE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM
 LEARNING GUIDE TIME LEARNING
Lesson 3: Primary Health Care and the Philippine Health Care Delivery System ALLOTMENT RESOURCES

Intended Learning Outcomes 1.5 hours Lesson Content:

3.1. define primary health care; Lesson 3
3.2. explain the elements and principles of primary health care;
3.3. discuss the processes involved in health care management; and;
3.4. describe the status and processes of the Philippine health care system.

Self-Directed Activity/Laboratory Works 2.5 hours

Coordinate a visit to a local health institution (lying-in/birthing clinic or district

hospital). Complete the form below by interviewing a lying-in/birthing clinic or
district hospital officer/administrator.

Baseline Concept Understanding 15 minutes

Learning Outcomes Assessment 15 minutes

HEALTH CARE
Health is a fundamental human right as cited in the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978
Health care system is defined by Miller & Keane (1987) as “an organized plan of
health services .
Health care delivery, as defined by Williams-Tungpalan (1981), is the “rendering of
health services to the people.”
Health care delivery system, also as defined by Williams-Tungpalan (1981), is “the
network of health facilities and personnel which carries out the task of rendering health
care to the people.”
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

Primary Health Care (PHC) deals with social policy targets health equity with
the ultimate goal of better health for all. The five key elements to achieve these goal as
identified by WHO are as follows:
1. universal coverage to reduce exclusion and social disparities in health;
2. service delivery organized around people's needs and expectations;
3. public policy that integrates health into all sectors;
4. leadership that enhances collaborative models of policy dialogue; and
5. Increased stakeholder participation.
Eight Essential Elements of PHC
1. Education concerning prevailing health problems and the methods of
identifying, preventing and controlling them
2. Locally endemic disease prevention and control
3. Expanded program of immunization against major infectious diseases
4. Maternal and child health care including family planning
5. Essential drugs arrangement
6. Nutritional food supplement, an adequate supply of safe and basic nutrition
7. Treatment of communicable and non-communicable disease and promotion of mental
health
8. Safe water and sanitation
Other elements of Primary Health Care
1. Expended options of immunizations
2. Reproductive health needs
3. Provision of essential technologies for health
4. Health promotion
5. Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases
6. Food safety and provision of selected food supplements
Principles of Primary Health Care

Basic objectives to launch and sustain PHC:

1. Improve the level of health care of the community
2. Promote favorable population growth structure
3. Reduce the morbidity and mortality rates especially among infants and children
4. Reduce prevalence of preventable, communicable, and other diseases
5. Improve basic sanitation
6. Extend essential health services especially to underserved sectors
7. Develop the capability of the community to become self-reliant
Principles of Primary Health Care (Continuation)
8. Encourage the contribution of other sectors to the social and economic development
of the community
9. Provide equitable distribution of health care
10. Ensure community participation and monitor adequacy and distribution of health
workers who are supported locally and at the referral levels
11. Recognize that the formal health sector needs other sectors in the promotion of
health (multi-sectoral approach)
12. Use the appropriate technology which are accessible, feasible, affordable, and
culturally acceptable to the community
Management of Primary Health Care

Planning Organizing Staffing Controlling Directing

Management Principles in relation to Organizing
1. Authority, responsibility, and accountability
a) Authority refers to the formal and legitimate right of a manager to issue orders,
make decisions, and allocate resources to achieve desired outcomes of the
organization.
b) Responsibility is the duty of the employee to perform the assigned tasks and
activities.
c) Accountability means reporting and justification of task outcomes to higher
management by those people with authority.
2. Types of authority

a) Line authority managers issue orders to their subordinates and are responsible for
the results.
b) Functional authority is for managers that have power only over a specific set of
activities.
c) Staff authority is given to specialists in their areas of expertise. The staff manager
simply advises, recommends, and counsels.
3. Centralization, decentralization, and formalization

a) Centralization refers to the concentration of planning and decision-making to the

top of the organization.
b) Decentralization refers to the delegation of planning and decision-making to the
lower branches of the organization.
c) Formalization refers to a written documentation provided for the direct control of
the employees.
4. Staffing
a) Assign individuals to respective positions identified in a management plan
b) Assess required competencies through
• identification of the key result areas (KRA’s) per major activity
• determination of competencies and qualifications
c) Recruit qualified personnel
d) Improve existing services and programs by
• reviewing and adjusting the requirements accordingly
• matching the competency requirements vis-a-avis the responsible personnel
assigned to the activity
THE PHILIPPINE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
The Philippine health care system is ”a complex set of organizations interacting
to provide an array of health services.”

The Department of Health Mandate (E.O. No. 119, Sec. 3)

The DOH has the responsibility to create, plan, implement, and systematize
national health policies, advocacies, and programs. The primary function is to promote,
protect, and preserve or restore people’s health by giving health services and by
monitoring and motivating health service providers.
Vision
DOH vision by 2030 states
A global leader for attaining better health outcomes, competitive and responsible
health care system, and equitable health financing

Mission
To guarantee equitable, sustainable and quality health for all Filipinos, especially
the poor, and to lead the quest for excellence in health
LEVELS OF HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

1. Primary level of health care facilities

a) Units operated by the DOH which include the rural health units, their respective sub-centers, chest
clinics, malaria eradication units, and schistosomiasis control units;
b) Puericulture center operated by the League of Puericulture Centers;
c) Units operated by the Philippine Tuberculosis Society such as the tuberculosis clinics and hospitals;
d) Clinics operated by Philippine Medical Association;
e) Clinics operated by large industrial firms for their employees;
f) Health centers and community hospitals operated by the Philippine Medical Care Commission; and
g) Other health facilitates operated by voluntary religious and civic groups.
2. Secondary level of health care facilities
These are the smaller, non-departmentalized hospitals. These are emergency and regional
hospitals were adequate treatments are offered for patients with symptomatic stages of diseases.

3. Tertiary level of health care facilities

These are the specialized national hospitals which offer highly technological and specialized
knowledge, facilities and personnel are treated here.
 1.Grassroot or
Village Health
Workers
Intermediate
Level Health
Workers
First-Line
LEVELS OF
Hospital
PRIMARY
Personnel
HEALTH CARE
WORKERS
 KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
 Health is fundamental human right as cited in the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978.
 Reaching the highest possible level of health is important worldwide.
 Primary Health Care (PHC) is essential health care made universally accessible through
full participation of health care providers and at a cost that the community and the
country can afford.
 The ultimate goal of primary health care includes planning, organizing, staffing,
controlling, and directing.
 Health care facilities are categorized into primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
Primary health care workers are categorized as grassroot or village health workers,
intermediate level health workers, and first-line hospital personnel,
 The Philippine health care system has progressed due to many challenges through
time. The private sector has been strongly engaged but government regulation should
be optimized.
 The primary function of the Department of Health (then Ministry of Health) indicated
in EO no. 119 is to promote, protect, preserve, or restore people’s health giving health
services and monitoring health service providers.