Mindanatoday.com | Only on paper
By Churchill Aguilar
On the road with Doh
We actually have the best laws in the world, well at least in paper that is. But I would like to single out an established law called the Universal Health Care where in principle even the poorest of the poor can be and should be provided with health services such as hospitalization all for free. In concept it should not cost any indigent Filipino a single centavo as medicines will also be provided free. For those who have experienced being hospitalized in a government facility, it’s more known as the zero-balance billing.
But sadly in reality patients in government hospitals have to buy even the surgical gloves used by doctors in consultations outside of the government facility before they get attended to. And after consultations or even after operations, patients will have to buy their own medicines, again outside of the hospital because the hospital pharmacy is always out of stock.
The easiest excuse is the huge volume of patients availing health services everyday and while in a way that is true, that does not count as valid. You see, if one is savvy with governance and management, a bigger and darker reality lies beneath.
There is budget of course, even with the huge volume of patients if management knows where to source funds, but almost always it is because administrators fail to effectively manage procurement of medicines either for lack of foresight or for other vested interests like the intention to buy only items where they get the biggest kickbacks, and that explains boxes of useless medicines expiring.
Delays of procuring medicines are also kind of welcomed if not designed to be the status quo by doctors and staff who own pharmacies outside of government health facilities obviously because it would mean sure customers for their businesses.
Perhaps it is high time that we as a public should start considering the presence of a single pharmacy outside of a government hospital as a clear indicator of either corruption or at least poor management. Either way we should demand for better service. How much more if there are a lot of pharmacies thriving.
If a government hospital administrator cannot deliver universal health care that is free, then he or she is surely the wrong person in the post. He or she obviously lacks the skills to manage not just fund sourcing but also the daily operation that can provide Filipinos with the services our law stipulates. And this goes to all government hospitals including and especially those run by the Department of Health.
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