Philippine lawmakers urged to institutionalize telepsychiatry services for OFWs

Philippine lawmakers were urged to pass a measure that would institutionalize the delivery of telepsychiatry services for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), a group of researchers funded by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) said on Thursday.

A proposed law would mandate various government agencies to implement comprehensive national telepsychiatry services for OFWs, as recommended by a study led by the Davao Medical School Foundation Inc. (DMSFI).

Dr. Maria Angelica C. Plata, a research faculty member at DMSFI, said some recommendations from the study include the designation by the Department of Health (DOH) of a national telepsychiatric referral system. Under this system, repatriated OFWs could continue their sessions at OFW hospitals, the National Center for Mental Health, or regional facilities near their hometowns after completing initial sessions in the resource centers abroad.

“When they arrive here, hopefully there will already be a list showing where they can continue—ideally at a primary care center, especially for those from Mindanao and Visayas, where they can follow up,” Ms. Plata told BusinessWorld in Filipino at the sidelines of PCHRD’s Talakayang HeaRT Beat press conference.

Institutionalizing the program could also provide clearer guidelines on where OFWs can call or connect and how they can be referred to the appropriate facilities, Roston R. Plata, DMSFI’s part-time instructor, said.

To make telepsychiatry services sustainable, Mr. Plata recommended including the service in the mental health package of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

He said that the government should consider the professional fees of psychiatrists at the commercial level, which range from P3,000 to P6,000, to encourage participation in the program.

“If they adopt this, it will be great, so psychiatrists will have the incentive to work with the government,” Mr. Plata told BusinessWorld.

If institutionalized through law, the program plans to prioritize distressed OFWs at overseas Migrant Workers Resource Centers.

If proven successful, it could be expanded to cover all OFWs who need mental health support, he said.

Other recommendations of the study include encouraging the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to integrate mental health services in their dealings abroad and allowing the procurement of psychotropic medications at Philippine embassies.

The study also recommended that the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) establish dedicated infrastructure in overseas resource centers to serve as hubs for delivering telepsychiatry services.

DMSFI’s lead study, called Advocating National Disclosure to Integrate Telepsychiatry in Policies and Programs for Overseas Filipino Project (ANDITO), was funded through PCHRD’s grant program. The research was based on focus group discussions with key government agencies such as DOH, DFA, and the Department of Migrant Workers to coordinate efforts supporting OFWs’ mental health.

The study also drew on an earlier telepsychiatric study conducted from 2020 to 2022 in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which found high service satisfaction rates of 4.77 out of 5, indicating strong acceptance of telepsychiatry among OFWs.

As of this writing, Mr. Plata said they are still gathering support to get lawmakers’ attention on their study, with the goal of eventually enacting it either as a separate law or as a provision in the current Mental Health Act. — Edg Adrian A. Eva