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Poor Quality of Healthcare Services

in the Philippines

Almira Bianca R. Mendoza and Lorielyn I. Polintang

College of Accountancy Business and Economics

ECO 101: Basic Microeconomics, Batangas State University

Ms. Unica M. Pantino

November 22, 2022

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Poor Quality of Healthcare Services

in the Philippines

I. Intoduction

Healthcare access is the ability to obtain healthcare services such as

prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of diseases, illnesses, disorders, and other

health-impacting conditions. For healthcare to be accessible it must be affordable and

convenient. Unfortunately, many people do not have access to adequate healthcare. This occurs

widely enough in the Philippines. The Philippines is one of the most densely populated

countries in the world. It has a population of 108 million people and an average annual growth

rate of 2.5%. It is also considered to be one of the least developed nations in Asia. Despite

being a relatively young country, it has struggled to provide its citizens with basic healthcare

services for several years. This is mainly due to the high levels of poverty and unemployment

in the country. The shortage of healthcare providers and lack of hospital beds and medical

equipment are also causes of poor healthcare services in the Philippines. Several issues are

contributing to this shortage like an aging population, which requires more medical care, and

localized healthcare provider shortages, where a region lacks sufficient numbers of doctors and

nurses to serve the community, particularly in rural areas and poorer provinces.Most of the best

clinics and hospitals are located in larger cities such as Manila, Cebu City, Quezon City, and

Davao City. However, even residents of the country's capital face healthcare challenges. The

provision of high-quality, affordable, healthcare services is an increasingly difficult challenge.

The impacts that these factors have on healthcare services have led to significant improvements

being made across multiple sectors including education, infrastructure development, and
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economic growth/development, however, there is still a long way to go before we achieve total

sustainability. Overall improving the quality and performance in the healthcare environment

can help providers with reliable, cost-effective, and sustained healthcare processes and enable

them to achieve their goal of improving care delivery and enhancing patient outcomes. On the

front line, it all starts with healthcare service providers getting adapted to the environment

where quality improvement comes first rather than the process outcomes. Let’s get started with

quality improvement in the healthcare system.

II. Problem Statement

What are the healthcare services available in the Philippines?

Healthcare services in the Philippines can be overwhelming. There are so many hospitals, clinics

and other medical facilities available in the country that it becomes difficult to understand what

should be prioritized. However, before you begin to make a list of medical facilities you want to

explore, here's a crash course on what you need to know about healthcare services in the

Philippines.

What are the causes of poor quality healthcare in the Philippines?

The quality of healthcare provided in the Philippines has been coming under question for quite

some time now. Indeed, there is a persistent issue with regard to the lack of personnel resources

and facilities, among other things including medical malpractice.

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What are the challenges in the healthcare industry in the Philippines?

In the Philippines, there are many challenges in the healthcare industry. Our life is full of

challenges, and finding solutions for these challenges will help us lead a more fulfilling life. One

of the most challenging issues in our country today is the healthcare industry. This article aims to

provide you with an insight into why it's so challenging and how to overcome these obstacles so

that you can live a better life.

What measure should be done to improve the quality of healthcare services in the Philippines?

Improving quality of healthcare services in the Philippines will require a complete overhaul not

just within the system, but also within the attitudes of healthcare providers. This requires a

change in culture, mindset, and practice as well as a gradual shift in attitude from consumers

(patients) to providers. The first step towards achieving this is being aware that there is an issue

and taking steps to address it.

III. Obejectives

Many Filipinos do not have access to adequate healthcare. Philippines has struggled to provide

its citizens with basic healthcare services for several years. Most of the best clinics and hospitals

are located in larger cities such as Manila, Cebu City, Quezon City, and Davao City. However,

even residents of the country's capital face healthcare challenges. The provision of high-quality,

affordable, healthcare services is an increasingly difficult challenge. Improving the quality and

performance in the healthcare environment can help providers with reliable, cost-effective, and

sustained healthcare processes and enable them to achieve their goal of improving care delivery

and enhancing patient outcomes. To improve the quality of healthcare we should start by

improving hospitals and health facilities. To improve this, we not only need to increase the
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budget of these hospitals, but we should also look for capable hospital directors who know how

to manage the hospital efficiently, raise funds, and go into public-private partnerships to quickly

upgrade the hospital’s capabilities. Next, employ more health workers such as doctors, nurses,

and midwives. Then, increase PhilHealth enrollment and improve PhilHealth benefits. The key

strategy is to enroll the poorest 10 million families into PhilHealth. If we can get the necessary

funds to enroll these poor Filipinos, then they will at least be partially covered in their hospital

expenses. Lastly, lower the cost of medicines. The price of prescription drugs remains too high

and out of reach. Lowering drug prices is necessary to control health care costs, which in turn

determines affordability, and access to care and improves outcomes.

IV. Options

There are various solutions for the poor quality healthcare services in the Philippines. These

include the government's insistence to make all doctors maintain a standard of maintaining

updated medical knowledge and skills; providing implementation of HIV/AIDS surveillance

programs, building a more permanent geographical infrastructure especially to areas where

health infrastructure was initially weak; and validation of current level of training at medical

schools. We need to create a new source of funds and infrastructure to solve this long time

problem. A significant change in the legal system will be needed, which would erode on our

developing reputation for corruption. We can use existing solutions for poor quality of healthcare

services in the Philippines and improve them considerably, with the advantages of technology at

our disposal.
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V. Analysis of Options

Healthcare in the Philippines has significantly improved over the years. However, it is still far

from reaching a satisfactory level. There are many reasons for this, including insufficient

funding, a shortage of trained doctors and nurses, and a lack of facilities to treat the sick or

injured. The government has made some efforts to address these issues and improve access to

healthcare. The Philippines has a history of developing various industries, but they have not yet

managed to develop a working health system. It has only been in the last century that healthcare

facilities have been established and that healthcare is available to all Filipinos. Not only are there

limited facilities for the general public, but there are even fewer for the low or middle classes

who cannot afford private healthcare or travel to the cities. This lack of accessible and affordable

health services leads to poor nutrition and even mortality rates among Filipinos. It's a very sad if

one knows that there is no effective healthcare services in the Phillipines. It is really hard to

imagine that there are no reliable and effective health delivery system in the Philippines. I am

sure we have seen some institutions like Hospitals and Clinics providing decent kinds of medical

services that can be trusted by many people. However, these institutions are not properly

supported by their government thus they fail to provide quality service because so many other

problems affect on the healthcare systems.

VI. Recommendations

We can start by focusing our efforts on these 4 ways below. By doing so, we can surely create a

substantial impact on improving the health of many Filipinos.

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1. Improve hospitals and health facilities. How can we treat our people if we lack the facilities,

the machines, and the medicines? To improve this, we not only need to increase the budget of

these hospitals, but we should also look for capable hospital directors who know how to manage

the hospital efficiently, raise funds, and go into public-private partnerships to quickly upgrade

the hospital’s capabilities.

2. Employ more health workers such as doctors, nurses, and midwives. We have a surplus of

around 200,000 nurses in the country. And yet, we lack the funds to employ the needed health

workers in our health facilities. There are pending legislations to increase the budget of health

workers. Moreover, we should ensure their safety in their areas of work. Both hospital

improvement and employing the necessary health workers go hand in hand.

3. Increase PhilHealth enrollment and improve PhilHealth benefits. The key strategy is to enroll

the poorest 10 million families into PhilHealth. This is roughly 50 million Filipinos, half the

population, which are earning roughly less than P6,000 a month per family. But the truth is that

half of our people live in poverty. If we can get the necessary funds to enroll these poor

Filipinos, then they will at least be partially covered in their hospital expenses.

4. Lower the cost of medicines. The price of prescription drugs remains too high and out of

reach. Lowering drug prices is necessary to control health care costs, which in turn determines

affordability, and access to care and improves outcomes. The DOH is mandated to promote

generic medicines and to monitor the cost of essential medicines.

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