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Zamboanga water district proposes basic tariff increase to P278

THE ZAMBOANGA City Water District (ZCWD) is proposing to increase rates within the first quarter 2020 to fund its P5.3 billion investment program for the next 10 years, the city government said in a statement on Wednesday as it announced the schedule of public consultations for the tariff hike. The proposed new rates are P278 for the first 10 cubic meters from the current P185, and P39 for the succeeding 11-20 cubic meters from P26. “The P185 rate is applied as of to date which was proposed in 2011 and was implemented in the year 2015. Note the time difference from 2011 up to its standing implementation, 2019. The significant increase of inflation has taken its toll over the years,” ZCWD General Manager Leonardo Rey D. Vasquez is quoted in the statement. The planned investment program, Mr. Vasquez said, is composed of a “series of projects that are set to take off upon the implementation of water rates increase amounting to a total of P5.34 billion. These are backed up with detailed engineering and program of works which formed part of our preparation to the primary objective of providing sustainability of potable water supply and water security for the city.” The projects include network expansion, non-revenue water reduction, additional water sources, and sewerage and sanitation services improvement and expansion.

CONSULTATIONS
Barangay-level consultations are scheduled on Dec. 19 at the Talisayan NHS covered court in the morning and at the Cabaluay Barangay covered court in the afternoon; and Dec. 20 at the Mayor Vitaliana Agan Coliseum. ZCWD, a government-owned and controlled corporation, has also set a dialogue with the business and other related sectors on Jan. 8; government agencies, local officials, urban poor associations and other sectors on Jan. 9; and for the general public on Jan. 16 at the Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum.

Magnitude 5.3 aftershock busts GenSan main water line

OVER 700 aftershocks have been recorded by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) since the magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck southern Mindanao on Sunday, with the strongest so far at 5.3 at 4:18 a.m. on Wednesday. The epicenter was still in Padada, Davao del Sur. However, the biggest reported damage from yesterday’s tremor was the General Santos City Water District’s (GSCWD) main water line along the national highway to Leon Lido Street. Intensity 4 was felt in the city. Several villages have been affected with low or no water supply, but Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera assured that GSCWD personnel immediately started repair work and will “possibly be finished” by 5 a.m. Thursday. The national disaster management office’s update on the Dec. 15 tremor as of 6 a.m. on Dec. 18 show damage covering 128 public schools, 19 health facilities, and 41 other public structures. The death toll has also gone up to nine while injured were at 111, but the agency said the casualty count is still being validated.

4 kidnap victims remain in Abu Sayyaf hands as Asian neighbors meet to tackle security in Sulu-Celebes Seas

MARITIME AUTHORITIES from neighboring Asian countries are meeting in Manila on Dec. 18–19 to tackle security in the Sulu and Celebes Seas, where the Abu Sayyaf terror group is the biggest threat, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). The gathering is attended by representatives from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China. It is convened by the PCG and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC). “Our objective is to share the latest situation in Sulu-Celebes Seas… and to share, consider, and discuss the further steps that we have to take to improve the situation,” ReCAAP ISC Executive Director Masafumi Kuroki said in a live-streamed press conference on Wednesday. “Since 2016, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia have been exerting efforts to address maritime crimes, with active assistance from Australia, Japan, and the United States to enhance capabilities. However, if we want to sustainably address these maritime safety and security issues, we need to study the dynamics of these prevailing criminal activities. I believe this meeting is a great avenue for such undertaking,” he said.

INCIDENTS
The PCG reported that there were 19 actual and 11 attempted crew abduction incidents from March 2016 to November 2019 “in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and Eastern Sabah” areas. “Keeping our sea lanes safe and secure will maintain free and open passage of commercial vessels and will make regional economies thrive and develop without the threat of piracy and armed robbery against ships at sea,” said PCG Commandant Admiral Joel S. Garcia, also chair of the ReCAAP ISC Governing Council. Lt. Gen. Cirilito E. Sobejana, commander of the Philippine military’s Western Mindanao Command, for his part reported that they remain “relentless” in the rescue operations for four remaining Abu Sayyaf kidnap victims. Three of them are Indonesians and one Filipino. “We are relentless in our rescue efforts for the remaining four kidnap victims… it was at 47 three years ago,” Mr. Sobejana said, noting the cooperation and assistance of all sectors in their operations. The Abu Sayyaf, known for its kidnap-for-ransom activities, is a local terror group that has ties with the Islamic State. The ReCAAP is the first regional government-to-government agreement to promote and enhance cooperation against piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. — MSJ

Nationwide round-up

Bill filed for FOI bill, info commission

PHILSTAR FILE

A BILL has been filed before the House of Representatives seeking to institutionalize the right to access to information and create a Freedom of Information Commission. Quezon City 5th District Rep. Alfred D. Vargas filed House Bill 5776 on Dec. 10, which, if passed, will be known as the “Freedom of Information Act of 2019.” Mr. Vargas said President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Executive Order No. 2, which operationalizes the people’s right to information, is not enough given that “a mere Executive Order by one administration can easily be reversed by the next one.” The EO also covers only the government’s executive branch. “EO No. 2 does not and cannot cover other important government institutions like local governments, the legislature, independent constitutional bodies and the judiciary. Coverage of these other government instrumentalities can only be done by an act of Congress” Mr. Vargas said. He stressed the importance of making all statistical data on budgets, appropriations, and contracts in a machine readable format to ensure that “researchers and analysts will have a quicker and easier time in processing and analyzing data.” The bill also seeks to create an Information Commission that will oversee the implementation and enforcement of the freedom of information law. Mr. Vargas expressed optimism on the passage of the bill given majority support for Mr. Duterte in the legislature and House Speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano’s previous position as chairman of the Senate committee on public information. “I have full faith that this 18th Congress is made up of men and women ready to deliver a landmark legislation that paves the way to an empowered and informed citizenry all contributing to good governance and our nation’s development,” he said. The bill is currently pending at the committee level. — Genshen L. Espedido

Nation at a Glance — (12/19/19)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Nation at a Glance — (12/19/19)

Half-matched bone marrow transplant provides patients with a whole lot of hope

In March 2019, 28-year-old Jel Calooy was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. It is a rapidly-developing condition that can cause significant physical and emotional disability.

Calooy’s doctor, hematologist Dr. Alma Calavera, recommended bone marrow transplant for its high rate of cure for patients with AML. The medical procedure replaces the unhealthy blood-forming cells (stem cells) with healthy ones.

Calooy received a newer kind of bone marrow transplant – half-matched or haploidentical allogenic transplant − at The Medical City (TMC) in July 2019.

Bone marrow transplant is also called Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation or HSCT. In the past, the stem cells were collected from the bone marrow. Today, stem cells can also be collected from the peripheral blood, instead of the bone marrow, the reason why it is also called HSCT.

There are two types of bone marrow transplant–autologous and allogeneic. Both are being performed at the Institute of Personalized Molecular Medicine (IPMM) of The Medical City. It was back in 2016 when TMC’s first bone marrow transplant was performed successfully. Since then, TMC has performed the procedure a total of 40 times.

For an autologous stem cell transplant, the patient’s own stem cells are removed from his or her bone marrow or peripheral blood before the transplant.

An allogeneic transplant is the most common type of bone marrow transplant for AML and involves transferring stem cells from a healthy person − the donor, usually a sibling with a perfect match− to the patient in order to minimize the chance of graft versus host disease (GVHD), rejection, and other complications. The problem is, not all patients will have a perfectly matched sibling.

TMC-IPMM now offers haploidentical allogeneic transplant to patients with clear indication for this procedure, hoping that each leukemia patient will have a suitable donor.

Advantages of half-matched transplant option
An allogeneic transplant involves matching a patient’s tissue type, specifically their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue type, with that of the donor. A close match between a donor’s and a patient’s HLA markers is essential for a successful transplant outcome.

HLA matching promotes engraftment which refers to the growth and development of new healthy blood cells and reduces the risk of a post-transplant complication called graft versus host disease (GVHD). If the HLA match is not close enough, the donor’s immune system, which accompanies the transplanted stem cells, recognizes the HLA mismatch, and will attack the recipient’s tissues. This is how GVHD got its name.

For patients who need a transplant but do not have a HLA-matched related or unrelated donor, recent medical advances have made possible the use of a partially matched or haploidentical related donor who is usually a 50% match to the recipient. He or she may be the recipient’s parent, sibling, or child. Haploidentical transplant increases the chance of finding a donor as almost everyone has at least one haploidentical relative.

Dr. Calavera, who is the head of the Bone Marrow Transplant of TMC-IPMM, says this half-matched option makes transplant possible for nearly every patient who needs the treatment. There is also no need to delay the procedure while waiting for a patient’s perfect or near perfect donor match.

Transplant saves patient, leads to deeper bond with family
Calooy was hospitalized due to dengue in February this year. She was discharged after a few days but during her follow up lab tests, her platelet count remained low and her white blood cells were noted to be elevated at 30,000 per microliter of blood (mcL). The normal range is usually between 4,000 and 11,000 per mcL.

She called up their family doctor who advised Calooy to seek consult with an Infectious Disease specialist at TMC. Calooy saw Dr. Cybele Lara R. Abad who referred her to Dr. Calavera. After a series of tests, Dr. Calavera said they found blasts (immature white blood cells) in the patient’s blood suggestive of leukemia.

“I asked Dr. Calavera, Is my life shorter than others?” shares Calooy. “But Dr. Calavera said, no, we can cure you.”

Dr. Calavera told Calooy she wanted the best care for her so she is not stopping her from seeking second opinion in another hospital, if she wanted to.

“To be honest, I asked myself, what if The Medical City wasn’t the right hospital for me? So I did seek a second opinion only to find myself going back to Dr. Calavera for my treatment,” says Calooy.

“I believe that my doctor can do it, I trust that she will do the best she can to cure me and that she will take care of me. The connection of patient and doctor is so important that it can actually affect outcomes of any tests and procedures. The Lord will make Dr. Calavera His instrument for my cure,” she adds.

Before the patient gets the stem cell transplant, she will get the actual cancer treatment. In Calooy’s case, to destroy the abnormal stem cells, blood cells, and cancer cells, she was given high doses of chemotherapy.

“Jel had two sessions of high dose chemo before proceeding to the transplant. We harvested stem cells from her brother after giving Jel her conditioning regimen,” explains Dr. Calavera.

A few days after Calooy’s chemotherapy, the actual stem cell transplant was performed on July 25, 2019. The harvested stem cells from the donor, Calooy’s 21-year-old brother, and infused through a central line into a vein.

“I knew that finding a donor is the hardest part of the transplant. I am lucky that my siblings are all willing to be my donor but we’re not fully matched. Even my donor, Jheo is a half-match,” says Calooy.

Calooy had haploidentical transplant, where her donor matches exactly half of her HLA. She stayed in the hospital for a month and a half while her blood counts were not yet back to normal. Calooy also experienced the side effects of the transplant − nausea, fatigue, hair loss, and mouth sores.

“But never in my life will I give up, despite all these. I don’t want my brother’s sacrifice to go to waste,” adds Calooy.

“The success of having such miracle during the transplant was the love of family. Yes, by fact that the medicine will treat you but the love and support of your family cures you in words that I cannot explain, that love was my drive to keep on fighting.”

On August 23, Calooy was happy to be back home. She knew however that the first year after transplant is like her first year of life as a newborn baby and her recovery will be gradual.

“When I got home, I sat on my bed and prayed. I thanked the Lord that I am home, I thanked Him for not leaving me, I thanked Him so much that I cry every time I pray because He gave me more than I deserve.”

Bone marrow transplant changed Calooy’s life, she admits. She is still the vibrant, charming lady that she is but is now more courageous, faithful, and appreciative of the gift of life and the love and support of family and friends.

“For all those who are struggling, let there be known that there is hope and light for all the pain and sacrifices done,” says Jel.

Building trust in Healthcare: The enabling role of Technology

It takes a lot to create and maintain trust among people, even more so when there are sensitive matters on the line: the health and wellbeing of patients, expensive healthcare bills, payments, and so much more. The process of trust development among stakeholders in the health community is also challenged by structural issues. Demand for healthcare far outstrips supply. Thus, most healthcare settings may be described as “toxic” with too many patients seeking care from service providers that are already overstretched. Resources in a developing country such as ours, are scarcer. Innovation and leadership will make the difference between simply expensive but still workable, or exorbitantly expensive and inaccessible to almost all but the very privileged few.

MediLink’s Role in the Health Ecosystem
MediLink Network, Inc. (MediLink), serves the healthcare community by mediating trust between counterparties in a healthcare transaction. A healthcare transaction takes place among patients, hospitals, clinics, doctors, and health insurers.

For each transaction, MediLink’s electronic network serves the interests of three major stakeholders: (1) for patients, the platform offers convenience through instant authorization for insured transactions and cashless availment; (2) for healthcare providers, transactions are authorized based on the patient’s healthcare plan benefits and paid on time; (3) for HMOs and insurers, value-added services monitor fraud and provide transparency on utilization drivers.

Each node in MediLink’s network serves as a sentinel that facilitates and monitors transactions between trusted parties. The company’s services are continually evolving to reduce fraud, inefficiency, and waste in the healthcare system.

Mediating Trust Among Counterparties
The health ecosystem is a complex web that involves many stakeholders. Each stakeholder group is dynamic. The roster of physicians, nurses and other practitioners change daily. Health facilities may open new branches, undergo name or ownership change, while others may cease operations. Companies may switch between healthcare plans from year to year. Corporations onboard and offboard employees daily.

As a gateway for health transactions, MediLink ensures that each stakeholder in a transaction is authenticated before guaranteeing transactions between them. This helps the stakeholders avoid situations where one stakeholder’s word is held against another’s. All transactions that traverse the electronic network are fully transparent and auditable, making it an objective source of truth for counterparties. Counterparties no longer have to rely on unverified verbal statements from each other, which are especially tenuous if there is no previous transaction between them before.

As a third-party network and solutions provider, MediLink is entrusted with a lot of data including the medical history of each member of our clients in the health ecosystem. The information is personal and highly confidential. To protect our clients’ data, MediLink continually maintains its certification for ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management, a world-class standard, alongside a strong organizational culture to maintain data privacy and information security.

Future Plans


Every MediLinker is conscious of the healthcare challenges faced by the Philippines’ health ecosystem. The company is trying to contribute to the solution in some small way by raising up new generations of highly skilled and committed team members with the desire to use their ICT skills to solve healthcare challenges. MediLink aspires to somehow influence trends in healthcare costs to become more consistent with Moore’s law, where services could grow by orders of magnitude while costs drop. Early healthcare intervention and accessible services is a key to preserving health, as a healthy populace is a foundation of a productive nation.

 

SM and BDO surprises Cebuanos with an all-star treat at the Pamaskong Handog 2019

Last December 7, overseas Filipino families, BDO Kabayan Savings account holders, and SM shoppers were treated with a Christmas celebration like no other as BDO and SM Supermalls kicked off this year’s much awaited Pamaskong Handog at SM Seaside City Cebu.

Pamaskong Handog 2019 was a fun day at the mall filled with fun activities for BDO Kabayan Account Holders, and OFWs and their beneficiaries, who were entertained by celebrity guests Piolo Pascual, Kim Chiu, Ronnie Alonte, LoisaAndalio, Aegies, Jennie Gabriel, and Ate Gay.

SM and BDO always seek ways to treat overseas Filipinos and their families with opportunities to celebrate and make memories. While loved ones are abroad, the SM malls become another home for overseas Filipino families, where they can safely claim remittances, be entertained, shop, share a meal, and spend some quality time together.

“As a one-stop wonderland for everyday needs, the SM malls have become the third place of overseas Filipinos and their families after home and school, where relatives and friends gather to celebrate long-overdue reunions and meaningful reconnections,” shares Jonjon San Agustin, SM Supermalls VP for Marketing.

“As Christmas is the most important family occasion for Filipinos, we would like to give our kababayans a fun & entertaining Christmas celebration featuring the country’s most requested artists along with games & prizes. Every year, we look forward to organizing our PamaskongHandog event to bring smile to their faces as they are far away from home during this time of the year.” said Genie Gloria, Senior Vice President and Head of BDO Remittance.

Pamaskong Handog 2019 was made possible by BDO, SM Supermalls, and BDO Remit partners WorldRemit, MoneyGram, Western Union & Small World.

Catch your fave celebrities at the remaining legs of Pamaskong Handog 2019 at SM City Davao Event Center, Annex on December 14, and SM City Telabastagan Event Center on December 21. Piolo Pascual will entertain the crowd at SM City Davao along with love team Edward Barber and MaymayEntrata; “Tawag ng Tanghalan” winner Elaine Duran, and OPM band Reo Brothers. Serenading the crowd at SM City Telabastagan are love team Xian Lim & Kim Chiu and OPM icon OgieAlcasid. For added fun and humor, comedians Ate Gay, MC &Lassy will be joining both Pamaskonghandog events.

Along with Pamaskong Handog events, there are exclusive deals and discounts for overseas Filipino families. They get P300 off on any regular-priced item with a minimum single receipt purchase of P3,000 at all branches of The SM Store (December 7, 14 & 21) and up to 20% off on selected gift items from Kultura branches nationwide (December 7, 14 & 21). BDO Kabayan Savings account holders may also claim a Php100 discount coupon during the Pamaskong Handog events & use the discount at all SM Supermarket and SM Hypermarket branches nationwide from December 7 to 31, 2019.

Overseas Filipinos may join the fun by watching the live streaming of the Pamaskong Handog events on BDO Kabayan Facebook page with a special viewing inside BDO Remit offices in Hongkong, Macau, Japan, France, Italy, Spain at UK.

For more details on Pamaskong Handog events or #SparklingSMallidays activities, visit www.smsupermalls.com/, www.bdo.com.ph, or BDO Kabayan Facebook page.

Pressing towards improved health care

More than a basic human right guaranteed by the Constitution, health is a matter of priority here in the Philippines. Several efforts have been initiated by the government to strengthen the country’s health system, with the latest aiming to improve the access to health care services as well as to initially address remaining issues in the system.

According to the most recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) through the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies titled “The Philippines Health System Review,” such efforts can be traced as early as the 1990’s when the Philippines adopted decentralized health governance. Later on, the National Health Insurance Program more known as PhilHealth was introduced in 1995 “to provide financial risk protection for the Filipino people.” Since 2010, universal health coverage for every Filipino has been pursued, and it finally culminated in the signing of Republic Act No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Bill, earlier this year.

The report cited figures from 2016 which indicated that the country’s health sector has 1,224 hospitals, 2,587 city/rural health centers, and 20,216 village health stations. “Sixty-four percent of hospitals are Level 1 nondepartmental hospitals with an average capacity of 41 beds, and 10% are Level 3 medical centres and teaching hospitals, with an average capacity of 318 beds,” the report added. From 46% in 2003, the share of the private sector in total hospital beds increased to 53% in 2016.

In terms of human resources, meanwhile, there are 90,308 nurses, 40,775 doctors, 43,044 midwives, and 13,413 medical technologists as of 2017. Among these populations, most of the nurses, midwives, and medical technologists are in the public sector of the health care system.

Inadequacies

The 2018 report also noted a consistent increase in total health expenditure (THE), but it pointed out inadequacy in the coverage provided by PhilHealth. “Financial protection is limited, resulting in a high level of household out-of-pocket (OOP) payment,” the report noted, adding that PhilHealth cannot yet be regarded as “a strategic purchaser of services.”

This was further impressed by the latest figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It indicated growth in the country’s THE in 2018 which amounted to P799.1 billion, up by 8.3% from 2017’s P737.8 billion. The PSA further noted that every Filipino spent P7,496 for health, up by 6.6%.

Among the financing schemes, household OOP stays as the highest with more than half (53.9%) of current health expenditures (CHE), amounting to P413.0 billion. Government schemes and compulsory contributory health financing schemes, meanwhile, totaled P260.6 billion or 34% of the CHE. Voluntary health care payment schemes had a 12.2% share with P93.3 billion.

In terms of how the health system performs, the report observed that albeit well-specified national objectives for health are set in place, “progress of local governments towards these targets remains highly uneven due to devolved health financing and service delivery.” Such inefficiencies pointed out by the report include limited number of health facilities relative to the growing population, overprovision of physicians, underprovision of care, and poor physician adherence to clinical practice guidelines.

Continuing efforts

Despite these observed lacks, the continued push for health reforms was nonetheless seen through Kalusugan Pangkalahatan (KP), a UHC policy initiated almost a decade ago. WHO noted that the Philippines attained success “in generating political and financial support to pursue KP and in legislating various policy proposals, most notably the Sin Tax Law and the Reproductive Health Law,” which were both passed in 2012. Through KP, PhilHealth coverage expanded to 92%; local health facilities were upgraded and constructed; and 23,800 health professionals were deployed while 51,594 community health teams were mobilized.

For WHO, nonetheless, more needs to be done. It found that “strong political support and wider fiscal space do not automatically impact on health system performance, as there is lack of institutional capacity to translate policy into effective programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation,” citing as examples “highly inequitable” access to health facilities and staff as well as inadequate funds for addressing critical health needs like the rise of noncommunicable diseases.

Furthermore, critical challenges remain to be faced by the health care system. These include health system inefficiencies and health inequities due to disorganized governance, fragmented health financing, and devolved and pluralistic service delivery.

Another challenge emphasized by the report is how to engage the private sector in delivering health care in the UHC context, saying this “requires strong regulatory capacity, not only by using command and control mechanisms but also by leveraging financing incentives.”

A big step

As the Philippine health care system encounters and addresses these challenges, the recently signed UHC Bill aims to make health services more accessible by automatically enrolling Filipinos into PhilHealth and expanding its coverage to include free medical consultations and laboratory tests.

Aside from ensuring full health care coverage to Filipinos, another intention of the UHC Bill is to reduce the high OOP expenditure for health. According to the accompanying results matrix of the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, OOP expenses are targeted to go down to less than 50% of the total health spending by 2022.

“Through this provision, we seek to protect people from the financial burden of paying out of their own pockets. It reduces the risk of people being pushed into poverty because it will help cushion the impact of having to use the family’s savings or of borrowing money to pay for health care services,” Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay, a co-author of the bill, was quoted as saying in an explainer by WHO on its website.

The law also clarifies the once overlapping roles and responsibilities of various health agencies, which means patients do not have to go from one institution from another in order to get benefits.

“For instance, the Department of Health and local government units will be responsible for population-based interventions and health services (e.g., immunization programs and health promotion programs) while PhilHealth will be responsible for financing individual-based health services,” the Philippine Information Agency explained on this provision of the law. — Adrian Paul B. Conoza

Technology as a solution to a healthier society

Every new age of progress is marked by groundbreaking developments in the field of medicine and health care. Whether it was the discovery of bacteria, the invention of penicillin, or the simple significance of good hygiene, human ingenuity has always sought to improve general health and well-being of people.

Today’s age of information is unique in the way that, given the rapid pace of technology, there are countless new solutions to problems in human health, and justifiably so due to the varied and complex new problems brought about by the changed world.

The World Economic Forum stated it thus, “First and foremost is the pressing issue of seeking sustainability: from our ageing demographics (by 2050, one-fifth of the global population will be over 60 and two-thirds of babies born today could live to 100) to the increasing burden of noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs), which already represent 75% of health care expenses, while the rising cost of health care will contribute to an overall direct and indirect loss of $47 trillion for the world’s gross domestic product by 2030.”

“Second, the acceleration of science and discovery with, for example, the cost of genome sequencing falling below $1,000, and over 100,000 new drugs in the pipeline, some of which have already had a profound impact in developing cures, particularly in cancer, but are increasingly associated with unaffordable costs,” the organization said in its Health and Healthcare in the Fourth Industrial Revolution report.

Treatments such as the recently approved cell therapy costs well over $1 million for one treatment for a single patient, making it an unfeasible option for many of the estimated 17 million new cases of cancer recorded worldwide in 2018.

“Third, the progress in technology spanning the digitalization of health and health care to social media, Internet of things (IoT), wearables, sensors, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), nanotechnology, robotics and 3D printing, will radically transform society, increase interconnectivity and break the structures of health care systems,” the organization added.

An age of medical discoveries

Such new problems deserve new innovative methods of approach. Fortunately, the emergence of so many revolutionary fields in science has a profound effect on the medical world.

Specific examples of technological breakthroughs changing medicine include genetic engineering — especially genome editing — regenerative biology and medicine, tissue engineering, cancer genomics and immunotherapy, precision medicine, microbiome, optical imaging, optogenetics and brain machine interface technology. In addition, the surge of data science with big data analytics, digital technologies, and AI will have a transformative impact on health and medicine.

Meanwhile, some diseases are on the brink of being eradicated completely. Gene-editing technologies have the potential to cure genetic diseases, such as sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis. Germline editing has the potential to cure diseases with permanent intergenerational changes, while somatic genome editing can treat, control, and possibly cure acquired diseases.

In areas like public health, advances such as precision medicine can guide health care decisions and can show great promise for prevention of diseases, particularly by identifying predisposed or high-risk patients for specific conditions and diseases that could be readily prevented with early detection, appropriate screening or through lifestyle changes.

The report added that health care data captured in real-time can generate new knowledge and evidence to better understand patterns of health and disease, perpetuating further innovation.

“The integration of big data, analytics, new technology and connectivity inside and outside clinical encounters, coupled with payer activity and cost, pharmaceutical, and medical products R&D data, and patient behavior, will help us better predict the outcome of diseases as well as drivers of health, including social determinants which are often underappreciated,” the World Economic Forum said.

The report predicted that in the near future, developments in health care will necessitate a reshaping of the landscape towards the formation of a seamless “continuum of care,” which will do away with the clinic-centered point of care models. Greater emphasis will be placed on prevention and early intervention.

Furthermore, a more consumer-minded approach will deliver health care to each person within their own ecosystem, placing a greater impact on the patients themselves.

“Despite the mounting challenges facing health and health care delivery, our council was able to provide promising insights and perspectives, thanks to all its members’ collective expertise. The combined advances in discovery and clinical sciences, data science and technology and their convergence through the Fourth Industrial Revolution are paving the way for unprecedented changes that will profoundly transform health and health care to become much more connected, efficient, preemptive, precise, democratized and affordable,” the organization said.

“Not only will this improve the health of individuals, it will also reduce imbalances across geographies while boosting economies and spurring employment, a key factor in the wellness and health of society,” it added. — Bjorn Biel M. Beltran

Working together for a healthy country

Health is a fundamental determinant of the country’s economic growth. As the World Health Organization says, better health makes an important contribution to economic progress as healthy populations who live longer are more productive.

There are several factors influencing the health status of a country and its ability to provide quality health care services. In the Philippines, in particular, the Department of Health (DoH) holds the overall technical authority of the said sector, serving as the national health policy maker and regulatory institution.

Aside from the public sector, the private sector has strong involvement as well in developing the local health care system. In fact, there are more private hospitals in the Philippines than their public counterparts. According to DoH, there are approximately 1,071 private hospitals and only 721 public hospitals listed in the country. Among the public hospitals, 70 of them are being operated by the DoH while the remaining hospitals are managed by local government units and other national government.

“Almost half of the population goes to private facilities for their health care needs. However, private hospitals cater more to the upper socioeconomic quintiles and those covered by health insurance,” the DoH said.

On the other hand, the poorest of the population are the main users of government health facilities, as data have shown. These health facilities have suffered neglect due to the inadequacy of health budgets, the DoH said.

There have been several efforts from the public and private health facilities to improve its health care services to Filipinos and ensure a healthy country.

The Philippine General Hospital (PGH), which is the only national referral center for tertiary care that provides direct and quality patient services to thousands of indigent Filipinos all over the country, has done several improvements in its operations over the years.

Aside from striving to provide cutting-edge medical equipment, the PGH continuously renovates some of its facilities. The improvement of its health care delivery has resulted in more patients seeking its services, the state-owned hospital says on its website.

“In 2016, census of patients rose by 25,000 from the average of 580,000 in the past ten years to 605,000 in 2016. 50% of patients were noted to come from the NCR, 30% from the Calabarzon and the remaining 20% from the rest of the country, including the ARMM and Bontoc Province,” the PGH says.

“It is predicted that as more advanced equipment and procedures or services are being installed in PGH, much more patients will be flocking in. Hence, there is a real need to establish another facility to further expand the services and expertise of PGH,” it adds.

In line with this, the construction of PGH in Diliman, Quezon City is in the pipeline, which will include a multi-storey tertiary care hospital, medical research center, ancillary facilities, and commercial areas. It is envisioned to complement and enhance the capabilities of the existing facility in Manila.

“An example of this would be — since the Eye Center is already in Manila — to position the Ear Center in Diliman. We can also create totally new institutes that will collaborate with existing units in UP Diliman, not found in UP Manila, like putting up the Institute of Sports Medicine which can be linked with the College of Human Kinetics and the Varsity Athletic Program. Expanding it even further, we can foresee a future wherein medical innovations and even manufacturing will be done in Diliman capitalizing on collaboration with Engineering and other sciences,” the PGH says.

It adds that the second PGH should be the hospital that the government does not have yet — a “Triple A” facility that will compete in form and function with the top private hospitals in the country and learning institutions abroad.

The Medical City — www.themedicalcity.com

Meanwhile, private hospitals in the country tend to be rated higher in terms of facilities and medical technologies offered. Some of the top private hospitals in the country include The Medical City (TMC) and St. Luke’s Medical Center.

TMC, according to its website, is a growing health care network with its main health care complex located along Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City, while the provincial hospitals are strategically situated in Clark, Iloilo, Laguna, and Pangasinan. It serves some 50,000 inpatients and 500,000 outpatients a year.

“TMC boasts of a distinguished medical staff of some 1,500 physicians, all of whom are experienced and recognized experts in their various fields. The Medical staff is supported by a 4,000-member organization composed of allied medical and administrative staff, many of whom have honed their expertise over years of loyal service to the institution,” TMC says.

The St. Luke’s Medical Center, on the other hand, has two facilities located in Quezon City and Taguig City, with a combined total of 1,146 well-appointed rooms. According to its Web site, each is equipped with the best available equipment depending on patient requirements.

“With 12 institutes and various departments and centers serving its patients, St. Luke’s practices a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach to the diagnosis and treatment of specific medical conditions, while significant investments have been made to acquire advanced medical technologies and equipment that provide the most accurate diagnostics possible,” St. Luke’s Medical Center says. — Mark Louis F. Ferrolino

Drug suspect killed after resisting arrest

POLICEMEN shot and killed a suspected drug pusher in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan province on Monday night after he allegedly resisted arrest, according to a police report.

The suspect, 30, allegedly pulled out a handgun and fired at law enforcers who raided his house in the village of Graceville shortly after selling illegal drugs to a cop who posed as a buyer, Bulacan police Director Colonel Emma Libunao said.

The man allegedly hid in his toilet while continuing to fire his handgun, she said.

“The operatives tried to negotiate with the suspect to surrender peacefully, but he continued to shoot at the law enforcers,” Ms. Libunao said.

Police shot back, killing the suspect on the spot, she added.

Police recovered a .38 caliber revolver and eight sachets of an undetermined quantity of crystal meth or shabu in his possession.

Police also took into custody two of the suspect’s female cohorts, who are facing drug trafficking charges.

Meanwhile, police arrested three suspected drug pushers in Quezon City on Monday night and seized 20 grams of shabu worth P136,000.

Operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Quezon City Police District arrested the suspects during a raid in the village of Bahay Toro.

The suspects sold illegal drugs to a policeman who posed as a buyer for P9,500, Quezon City police Director Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo said.

The suspects, who are facing drug trafficking charges, were among 17 people arrested for drug-related offenses in the city on Monday, according to police. — Emmanuel Tupas, Philippine Star

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