29 Hunyo 2021, Martes
In the news…
‘Patients avoid hospitals for fear of COVID-19’
“Even in the Philippines hospital visit have dropped sharply since pandemic came even though doctors say patients are far less likely to catch virus lying in hospital bed than shopping in a store,” Philippine Medical Association (PMA) president Bu Castro said in a webinar ,with almost half of patients now avoiding going to hospitals for fear of COVID, the need for hospitals to adopt digital innovation to reach out to their patients.
Castro said health care industry is changing and “shaken by the unexpected invasion” of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the past, he said, “physician-patient relationship is reinforced by the fact that patient and physician see each other face to face, either in the clinic or in the hospital.”
But for fear of contracting COVID-19, he said many patients no longer want to visit hospitals, risking their own health and safety.
He cited a study by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that there has been 40 percent decline in number of persons who visit hospitals, including emergency departments, due to fear of COVID-19.
There are physicians who would rather not see their patients face to face also for fear of getting infected.
Castro said more than 40 doctors have died due to COVID-19.
He added there is a need to devise a way, such as telemedicine, so that doctors can reach out to their patients without exposing both parties to the risk of infection.
For his part, John Duenas, chief executive officer of HyBrain, digital provider of Hospital Information System, said digital innovations in health care industry can provide solutions to the critical problems, particularly on the doctor/patient ratio.
Duenas said as of April 2020, there were 10 doctors to 10,000 population in the National Capital Region while there were 0.8 doctors to 10,000 population in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“Digitizing health information lays foundation of digital health model in the emerging markets,” he stressed.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) wants regional hospitals to pursue specialized medical research and development as it eyes establishment of regional medical R&D centers.
Rowena Cristina Guevara, undersecretary for R&D, said they were letting in regional hospitals in their Niche Centers in Regions for R&D or NICER program, which previously targeted state universities and colleges and private higher education institutions to host, run and manage such research centers.
This, Guevara said, will allow regional hospitals to establish centers for R&D that can specialize in priority fields of specialization like heart, lung, liver and kidney ailments.
She said they will urge regional hospitals to submit proposals for establishing medical NICER hubs in their respective regions that can start in earnest by next year.
The DOST has allocated around P504 million for the establishment of seven more NICER hubs based in state universities and colleges and private higher education institutions this year.
Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said move to set up additional NICER hubs was aimed at fast-tracking innovation through all regions of the country.
“By supporting R&D, we serve academe, the local industry and, in turn, the country due to entrepreneurial advancement provided to the local community,” Dela Peña said, citing Center for Vector of Diseases to be established under De La Salle University-Laguna.
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