ROQUERO, JAKE U.

BSRT 2-A

The healthcare environment in the Philippines is undergoing an exciting and

unparalleled transition. Healthcare facilities often encounters various problems when it
comes to providing better medical operations, services to patient, technical modalities,
and even proper spaces, environment, and hygienic assessments. Most of these factor
problems and challenges encountered at present by the Philippine healthcare sectors
including the Imaging department as part of the hospital organization are the following:

The healthcare industry has not embraced digitalization.

 Enormous healthcare companies in different places in the Philippines at this
present still uses paper data for transferring and recording medical records.
Without a fast access to the sharing data the process of procurement of supplies
and the sharing of vital information’s can be difficult and hassle to medical
workers and even for the continues process of providing better service. To
improve its procedures, the Philippine healthcare system is yet to adopt
digitalization techniques such as the cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). Yet,
driven by the pandemic, both the public and private sectors are investing more in
the advancement of medical technology in the country but still encounters
various problems like telemedicine was not as accessible in the Philippines.
Health digitization and digital infrastructure were rated poorly in the country.
Patients were typically diagnosed and monitored through face-to-face
consultations. As quarantine laws made it impossible for patients to get medical
advice from healthcare experts, telemedicine emerged as a viable option for
filling the gap in healthcare services in the Philippines.

Financing

 In the Philippines, finance for the laboratory equipment, diagnostic imaging

modalities, and even medical supplies encounters a lot of process and low of
equipping it here in the country. As it cost a lot of money, the healthcare services
here can’t provide higher operations from several disease treatment as the
medical field don’t have enough funds of buying expensive medical modalities.
Moreover, as it becomes more less in funding and support from the health
sectors the medical field here has limited budget, outdated imaging equipment,
frequent breakdowns and maintenance of equipment can incur unexpected costs
and this due to government funding constraints or low reimbursement rates from
health insurance providers. Despite efforts from both the public and private
sectors to address the needs of the population, huge gaps still exist in health
access and affordability across the country.
The High Cost of Health Care

 The most pressing issue in health care currently is the high cost of care. More
than 80% of the Filipinos say it’s difficult to afford health care, according to a
survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, and more than 40% have medical debt.
Because of the high expense of health care, many people postpone seeing a
doctor when they are unwell or forego preventative health appointments
completely. The expense of future medical treatment will rise as a result of the
quarter of Filipinos who cannot afford required medicines, who may miss
dosages or otherwise not take medication as directed. As per imaging sector
many can’t afford to have consultations or even undergo performing operation as
the payment is expensive enough for those who are less unfortunate.

Healthcare Disparities

 Rural areas mostly don’t have enough access to healthcare facilities and have
limited health machines/modalities that could provide a better service. Hospitals
in rural areas face logistical challenges. It can be difficult for them to have
products shipped to their facilities. Here in the Philippines, Diagnostic radiology is
a major growth industry in the healthcare sector in rural and impoverished areas
currently lack access to any form of imaging resulting to have tedious access and
operations.
Underpaid Health Workers and Migration of Health Workers:
 The issue of underpaid health workers here in the Philippines is still a concern.
Health professionals in the Philippines may encounter additional obstacles as a
result of inadequate benefits, such as health insurance coverage and retirement
programs. A lack of financial incentives for working in neglected areas may
discourage healthcare professionals from serving in rural or distant places. That’s
is why most significant exporter of healthcare workers to other countries. Due to
the comparatively low earnings in the Philippines, many Filipino healthcare
professionals pursue higher-paying opportunities abroad. This exacerbates the
lack of domestic healthcare workers.