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Statement!of!PAPO:!We!need!a!stronger!patient!voice!
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The! Philippine! Alliance! of! Patient! Organizations! (PAPO),! the! umbrella!
organization!of!several!patient!groups!in!the!Philippines!represents!the!
voices! of! those! who! suffer! from! diseases,! disabilities,! illnesses,!
impairments!or!syndromes.!As!a!member!of!the!International!Alliance!of!
Patient!Organizations!(IAPO),!we!work!with!communities!of!patients!to!
get!our!voices!heard!by!all!involved!in!healthcare.!!And,!with!the!help!of!
our! members! and! collaborating! organizations,! our! work! is! to! advocate!
for!patientBcentered!healthcare!in!our!country.!
We! laud! the! Aquino! Health! Agenda! of! Universal! HealthCare! or!
Kalusugang! Pangkalahatan.! President! Aquino! rightly! articulated! this!
as! the! provision! to! every! Filipino,! of! the! highest! possible! quality! of!
health!care,!that!is!accessible,!efficient,!distributed!adequately!funding,!
fairly!financed,!and!appropriately!used!by!an!informed!and!empowered!
public.!
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We! subscribe! that! the! best! patient,! is! one! who! is! wellBinformed! and!
empowered,!as!well!as!one!who!takes!responsibility!for!his!own!health!
and!wellness.!
At!present,!the!patients!voice!is!not!heard!enough!in!healthcareBrelated!
policymaking.! ! Among! the! many! stakeholder! groups! B! healthcare!
professionals,! hospitals,! the! industry,! more! attention! could! be! given! to!
the! longBterm! users! and! beneficiaries! of! healthcare! ! the! patients!
themselves!!and!the!organizations!that!can!represent!them.!
The! Philippine! Alliance! of! Patient! Organizations! represents! 15!
organized!patient!groups!out!of!the!59!patient!organizations!mapped!in!
the!recent!WHOBMeTA!Study.!!Many!more!are!out!there!with!very!little!
capacity! to! organize! themselves! legally! and! be! recognized,! because! it!
takes! time,! skill! and! resources.! ! As! you! can! imagine,! when! one! is!
diagnosed! with! an! illness! or! a! disability,! getting! in! touch! with! other!
patients!or!even!caregivers!in!a!similar!situation,!would!be!the!last!thing!
on!your!mind.!!!
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But,! the! time! is! ripe! for! building! crossBsector! alliances! and! working!
collaboratively! with! likeBminded! healthcare! professionals,! policy!
makers,! academics,! researchers! and! industry! representatives! towards!
patientBcentered!healthcare.!!And!we!at!PAPO,!accept!that!challenge!and!
are!presenting!ourselves!to!be!one!of!the!voices!of!the!Filipino!patient.!!!
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This! is! our! position! on! the! current! Philhealth! scam.! The! Philippine!
Alliance! of! Patient! Organizations! deplore! the! fraudulent! Phihealth!
claims!on!cataract!surgeries!that!were!unnecessary!and!anomalous,!and!
have!caused!the!violation!of!the!rights!of!Filipino!patients.!!!
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These!doctors!exploited!not!only!the!system,!but!the!patients!in!whom!
they! swore! to! serve,! heal,! and! protect.! ! These! doctors! should! be! held!
accountable!!for!what!he!has!done.!
!
In! line! with! this,! the! patient! groups! feel! that! the! Ophthalmology!
Societies! need! to! police! its! ranks! and! have! the! duty! to! preserve! the!
HIPPOCRATIC!OATH!that!ALL!of!them!swore!by.!The!Philippine!Medical!
Society! need! to! function! with! an! ethical! leadership! perspective! to!
preserve! the! standard! and! quality! of! doctors! we! have.! ! The! Philippine!

Regulatory! Commission! need! to! exercise! its! mandate! to! penalize! and!
weed!out!unethical!doctors.!
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Our! country! is! fast! on! its! way! in! improving! transparency! and!
accountability! in! the! Aquino! administration.! ! At! the! same! time! the!
Health!Services!have!improved!to!become!more!inclusive.!
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PhilHealth! has! greatly! increased! its! coverage! thru! massive! enrollment!
of! the! poorest! quintiles! of! society.! ! DOH,! thru! Sec.! Janet! Garin,! has!
provided!the!patients!an!opportunity!to!be!part!of!the!National!Hospital!
Quality! Improvement! Program.! As! PhilHealth! strives! to! expand! its!
services!to!realize!the!social!protection!it!is!mandated!to!do,!the!Doctors!
need! to! take! ownership! in! deepening! care! to! the! least! of! our!
countrymen.!!
!
We!!appreciate!the!cataract!benefit!of!Phil!health.!!It!is!something!that!is!
a! blessing! to! a! number! of! seniors.! ! However,! we! are! more! concerned!
with!the!unabated!corruption!that!this!will!cause,!if!the!perpetrators!are!
not! brought! to! justice.! ! There! are! doctors! that! will! continue! to! find! a!
game!out!of!the!system!no!matter!how!good!PhilHealth!will!become.!
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On! the! supply! side,! it! may! also! be! good! for! Philhealth! to! review! its!
systems!and!ensure!transparency!in!its!processes.!Philhealth!needs!to!to!
constantly!listen!to!patients!in!establishing!their!policies.!!
!
Cataract!operations!are!very!important!that!they!are!life!essentials.!!But!
there! are! senior! illnesses! that! are! more! vital! both! in! individual! effects!
and!in!relation!to!the!family!and!the!community.!
!
In!a!recent!Senior!Wellness!in!Cam!Sur,!as!much!as!50%!of!over!4,000!
seniors! engaged! in! 40+! barangays! and! 7! municipalities! are!
hypertensive,! 26%! suffer! from! painful! arthritis,! and! about! 10%! from!
diabetes.!!Only!2%!have!cataract.!
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In! considering! statistics,! Hypertension,! Arthritis,! Diabetes,! and! Upper!
respiratory!illnesses!need!more!vital!benefits.!!We!believe!!the!DOH!and!
PhilHealth! should! also! provide! more! incentives! for! health! promotion,!!
disease!prevention!and!primary!healthBcare.!!
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Last!February!15,!in!the!first!!Philippine!Patients!Conference,!the!patient!
groups!called!for!new!measures!on!3!fundamental!areas!to!improve!the!
quality!of!health!care!delivered!nationwide,!and!these!are!anchored!on!
the!following!principles:!
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1.! Respect!for!the!Filipino!Patients!Rights!
2.! Universal!Healthcare!for!all!patients!
3.! Patient! participation! in! creating! health! policies! that! are!
measured!by!substantive!performance!indicators.!!
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In! order! that! patientBcentered! health! care! becomes! a! conscious! and!
deliberate!agenda,!we!specifically!ask!the!following:!
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1.! That!the!Philippine!Health!Insurance!Corporation!include!
at! least! 2! patient! representatives! to! become! members! of!
the! PhilHealth! Board.! ! ! While! we! recognize! that! the! current!
charter! allows! representatives! from! member! categories! and!
other! government! agencies,! no! one! group! represents! diseaseB
specific!groups.!
2.! That!the!Philippine!Charity!Sweepstakes!Office!setBup!satellite!
offices! in! all! DOH! and! LGU! hospitals.! ! This! is! to! eliminate! the!
dehumanizing! situation! where! patients! have! to! line! up! in! the!
wee! hours! of! the! morning! just! to! avail! of! the! financial!
assistance!from!PCSO.!!!
3.! That! psychosocial! programs! be! integrated! in! the! health! care!
system,!with!fullBtime!personnel!dedicated!to!provide!patients!
with!holistic!and!compassionate!treatment.! !We!are!cognizant!
that! the! medical! approach! is! not! the! only! solution! to! ones!
healing!but!psychological!and!social!support!is!equally!critical.!
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We!feel!strongly!that!our!manifesto!will!have!an!impact!on!the!quality!of!
healthcare!received!by!all!patients!living!in!the!Philippines.!We!urge!you!
to!support!our!manifesto!and!become!an!active!supporter!of!our!aims.!!
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In! closing,! we! in! the! Philippine! Alliance! of! Patient! Organizations,! will!
reach! out! to! more! patient! groups! in! the! communities! and! take! a! more!
proBactive!role!in!giving!feedback!on!the!quality!of!health!services!using!
a! patient! score! card! and! social! accountability! process.! ! In! this! way,!
healthcare! providers! will! be! aware! if! they! are! indeed! patientBcentric!
and!respecting!the!Filipino!Patients!Rights.!!
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We!thank!the!Chairman!and!members!of!the!Blue!Ribbon!Committee!for!
listening!to!the!voice!of!the!Filipino!patients.!!!
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Salamat!po.!!
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22!July!2015!
For!inquiries,!please!call!Karen!AlparceBVillanueva!at!+63917!8427094!
Email:!karen.villanueva@papo.org.ph!