PENARROYO, DARIELLE RYAN P.

BSN3E

Essay about
Community Health Network System in the Philippines

The Philippines' community health network networks have grown throughout time. The
Philippines has seen a two-fold decrease in baby and under-5 mortality, as well as notable
gains in life expectancy and vaccination coverage. Even said, there are still a lot of issues in
the health sector that need to be resolved despite the progress that has been made thus far.
These include controlling the growing tide of non-communicable illnesses, decreasing the
prevalence of TB and pediatric pneumonia, and improving the ability for preparation and
response to natural and man-made catastrophes. And in this scenario, the Philippines has to
have a solid healthcare system in terms of the health network system in order to solve the
issues quickly and conveniently.

There are several initiatives to enhance the delivery of healthcare in the Philippines, but
despite these efforts, geographical and socioeconomic differences in the availability and
accessibility of resources are still a major issue. Infrastructure and human resources are not
distributed fairly across and within regions; they are largely concentrated in Metro Manila
and other big cities. The Philippines may be a significant exporter of medical specialists, but
it is difficult to guarantee enough supply domestically. As a result, a large number of Filipinos
do not receive quality healthcare. Only those with financial privilege receive quality medical
care.

It is regrettable that despite the government's long-term goals, improvements to the

healthcare system have not yet been felt and seen by people. However, the Department of
Health (DOH) and PhilHealth are promoting the creation of effective Service Delivery
Networks (SDNs) combining both public and private sector institutions in order to overcome
a number of these difficulties. In addition, a concerted effort will be made to oversee and
certify all providers and ensure that end users are aware of the benefits to which they are
entitled.
The Department of Health (DOH) is responsible for overseeing regional, specialized, and
government-owned hospitals, while the Department of National Defense is in charge of
military hospitals. Municipal governments deliver medical treatment, including preventive
and promotive health services and other public health initiatives through the agricultural
health units, health centers, and barangay health stations, while province governments
administer and run district and provincial hospitals.

The Philippine government launched a multi-sectoral response to the COVID-19 through

the Interagency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases, which is chaired by the
Department of Health. This response was made in regards to the following steps to further
improve our health network systems, especially in this time of pandemic (DOH). The
government hopes to stop the spread of COVID-19 and lessen its socioeconomic effects
through the National Action Plan (NAP) on COVID-19.

The government has responded to the COVID-19. The Interagency Task Force (IATF) on
Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Philippines organized a multi-sectoral meeting under the
direction of the Department of Health (DOH). The government has created a National
Action Plan (NAP) on COVID-19. intends to reduce the economical effects of COVID-19
and stop its proliferation.

The Research Institute of Medicine (RITM) expanded its testing capacity from one national
reference laboratory to 23 licensed testing labs across the country, including for financing of
services and management of cases needing isolation. They also implemented a community
quarantine that was extended to Luzon as well as other regions of the country. ensuring that
its healthcare system is capable of handling hospitalization, quarantine, and surge capacity;
addressing the social and economic effects on the neighborhood, especially by offering social
assistance to low-income families.

In order to reorganize and address COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) has
been collaborating with health ministries throughout the globe. In the Philippines, the
Department of Health and local governments are collaborating with the WHO country office
there and its partners to respond to the epidemic. The WHO regional office and headquarters
provide assistance for the completion of the national response. In order to identify hotspots
of disease transmission and diagnose instances of COVID-19, it is also important to
understand the dynamics and trends of the illness. The use of current monitoring techniques
has sped up case detection and helped uncover anomalous clusters, the only source of
information on television cannot be the television alone; laboratory validation may also be a
crucial element. Because of the disease's unique character and the non-specific symptoms,
the DOH and WHO are keeping an eye on all informational resources to help them decide
how to respond. Additionally, WHO offered selected government agencies technical support
to improve field monitoring for timely information needed for local level response.

In healthcare institutions, COVID-19 transmission must be prevented between patients and

medical personnel. In order to reduce the damage brought on by the spread of illness in these
institutions, infection prevention and control (IPC) is essential. In the initial phase of the
reaction, WHO helped the DOH by providing clinicians with personal protective equipment
(PPE). Frontline clinicians in healthcare and community settings received online IPC trainer
training as part of a project by WHO and DOH to enhance IPC.