On the demand side Population and effectiveness of the countrys preventive and promotive health programs determines whether

the Philippines has more adequate supply of hospital beds. Better preventive and promotive health programs less people seeking hospitalization Basis: Health indicators of both countries

On the supply side Depends on the capabilities of each and every hospital bed which now depends on other inputs such as : o Adequacy o Competence of medical manpower, medical technology, pharmaceuticals One hospital bed in the Philippines may not be equivalent to one hospital bed in Singapore, simple because the other inputs into the hospital bed may be quite different Maldistribution of hospitals in the Philippines (2000): o National capital region holds 32% of bed capacity while holding only 13% of the Philippine population. o The Southern tagalong Region holds 10.6% of beds with 7.4% of population o Central Visayas holds 5.5% of beds serving 4.3% of the population

Drugs as other Inputs In 2000 the pharmaceutical industry was estimated to be about 60 Billion Pesos Drugs one of the most important complimentary inputs of physicians visits Very essential in the production of Better Health Drugs have different cost components: o Research and development o Drug manufacturing cost raw materials, packaging, among others; o Marketing costs; and o Distribution costs Research and development cost one of the most expensive components of drug production It is the cost of inventing or innovating new drugs Estimates show that for one new drug to be introduced to the market, it would take about $800M in research and development To recover a pharmaceutical firms research and development expenses, patents are awarded to drugs. o For a certain period of time, nobody is allowed to produce and market a certain drug, except the discoverer. o The firm has monopoly on the drug o Therefore, this gives the discoverer-manufacturer-marketer the capability of pricing the drug high

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After the Patent period expires, monopoly over the drug stops and the drug becomes generic. Unpatented drug then becomes a cheap alternative

The Generics Law Was implemented during Aquino Administration Requires physicians to use the chemical or generic name of the drugs Arguments: o Health planners believed it will give the patients the freedom to choose the cheaper alternatives (substitution) o Some physicians believed that it was an infringement of their practice and will not assure them of the quality of the drugs being dispensed to their patients.