Manila: Health Secretary Jose Pujalte Jr. and a council of experts, comprising former Department of Health (DOH) secretaries, have convened to support the current administration's push for faster, more responsive medical services to revitalize the nation's health sector.
According to Philippines News Agency, in a press briefing on Wednesday, Pujalte said he had a meeting with former health secretaries Esperanza Cabral, Manuel Dayrit, Janet Garin, Carmencita Reodica, and Jaime Galvez Tan, who would provide advice and leverage institutional support to address persistent challenges, ranging from the shortage of medical professionals to the uneven quality of local government unit (LGU) hospitals.
He noted the inaugural meeting's key agreements include DOH's focus on "policies that are implementable and readily felt within the next two years."
"We want to prioritize the following: continue expanding zero balance billing, revisit primary healthcare registration to address fraud in the implementation of PhilHealth case rates. For example, in YAKAP (Yaman ng Kalusugan Program), monitoring of service quality, complementation with HFEP (Health Facilities Enhancement Program) programs among others," he said.
"Further directives are to strengthen the procurement systems to ensure protection of workers, implement an action plan for our budget utilization. Focus more on strategic initiatives. Dedicate special teams, and to focus on immediate distribution of commodities and communication strategies to align with program implementation," he added.
Citing that patients will come first with regard to health services implementation, Pujalte emphasized that his vision for health in the next two years is "apolitical."
"Kung ganyan ang ating direksiyon, mawawala 'yung pulitika, mawawala 'yung mga estratehiya o polisiya na nagpapabagal sa pagsisilbi ng ating mga mamamayan (If that ex-health chiefs forming a 'Council of Experts' to accelerate healthcare reform is our trajectory, we will remove the political maneuvers and bureaucratic policies that impede public service delivery)," he said.
To address the critical shortage of doctors and nurses, the DOH is exploring a multi-pronged approach that includes shortening the medical education timeline from nine to seven years and deploying medical graduates awaiting board results to rural areas.
Additionally, it plans to strengthen retention strategies for local healthcare workers while expanding telemedicine and AI technologies to connect remote barangays with urban specialists.
Regarding the implementation, Garin noted that the DOH has an existing operational structure where the regional directors of the Center for Health Development (CHD) act as generals in the field to implement policies alongside partner hospitals.
She explained the council will work in the background to make health services more responsive to the people's medical needs.
"Kunwari may mga administrative orders na hindi na sang-ayon, not responsive anymore to the current times. Instead of the Secretary devoting his time to that, puwedeng kami na ang gumawa ng staff work, so when it goes to him, naayos na, nabawasan ang trabaho, at we can work faster (If there are administrative orders that are no longer responsive to current times, our team can handle the staff work instead of the Secretary devoting his time to it, ensuring it is already resolved, reducing his workload, and allowing us to work faster)," she said.
