Health Economic Activity 2012

7/31/2019 Health Economic Activity 2012

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Course : Health Economics

Activity 2 : When the location of health practice is the community and the target of practice is the

individual, a family living in the community , who is then the client?

In a community based health practice, the client of the health professional is the

individual patient together with his family residing in the same community. This brings us to the

role of family members as support in the treatment and management of a diagnosed medical

condition. This is clearly shown when the individual patient comes for consultation because of

signs and symptoms of infectious disease. While the other members of the family may not be

around at time of consult, the medical advice given to the patient who needs isolation should

be carried out. In such cases when a of prophylaxis regimen for other members of the family

must apply, say for example case of active PTB given initial treatment, the exposed members ofthe sick individual must be managed by given anti-PTB prophylaxis.

Activity 3 : Evaluate the community / organization/ workplace where you belong if your community

/organization / workplace meets the features characteristics of a healthy community. What

recommendations will you suggest to make it a healthy community?

I work in an industrial clinic which has various accreditations on top of its Department of

Health ( DOH) license to conduct pre-employment medical exams for overseas landbased

workers and seafarers. These accreditation include various countries, maritime directorates as

well as embassies. Our clinic was established in 1990 and incorporated in 1995. Since the time

of its incorporation, various steps had been initiated to build strongly the foundation of the

clinic operations. The core values top management wanted to implement were properly

identified after months of exchanges and brainstorming. These included God centeredness,

service- orientedness, people-orientedness, harmony and efficiency. Strategic planning was

yearly undertaken. The first organizational structure clearly showed the lines of responsibilities

and accountabilities. Employees at all levels of the organization were served clear appointments

with job descriptions including agreement for trade secrecy implementation. Managers and

supervisors were sent to regular and periodic trainings for continuing education. With all the

plans being realized and the followup monitoring undertaken by respective department heads,

the environment seemed to be healthy. At that time when I was the youngest middle manager

in a group of five non-medical officers and the only doctor, I felt that all changes made toward

putting order in the organization would drain our energy if there will be no product

concentration. Why did I say so ? We were accommodating tieup with HMOs when our main

product was pre-employment medical exam services to overseas Filipino workers. During those

times. there was no mandate on DOH clinic licensing and the HMO industry was just beginning

to gain acceptance. Also , there was no mandate that an OFW clinic could not see an HMO

patient. The cost-containment measures were realized with y maximum utilization of workforce,


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for both types of clients. Our in-house specialists were more than happy to get extra income

from giving work clearances to candidates with borderline or suspected medical problems. The

other side of the coin was quite stressful for me particularly complaints on who should be first in

the queue? The sick patient or the healthy individual for screening? The first come-first-served

basis was hard to grasp by some clients. All wanted to be the first in the queue. The healthy

applicants for pure screening would never want a mix-up with the sneezing or coughing HMO

members seeking consultation. All these would definitely have a solution like dividing the clinic

into two, where the left side would be for the industrial clinic and the right would be for the

HMO members but with one clinic entrance where all clients would be using and one work area

where all would be inhaling the same air, the question of social responsibility has been the

pressing challenge for managers like me. The solution to this pressing problem was triggered by

a complaint from an international journalist, an HMO member who was treated like an

industrial client after a clinic staffs failure for proper endorsement on service requirement. This

matter was raised in one Management Meeting giving me much opportunity to present my

stand. At the end, all were convinced to terminate our contract with the HMO and concentrate

on our industrial clinic services. With this re-direction, it was easier to move forward. We

continued with our mission of providing quality pre-employment medical exam PEME services

to OFWs as well as seafarers. Our vision of international recognition for excellence in the field

of PEME has been realized. In 2001, Angelus Medical Clinic, Inc. our clinic has been awarded the

first clinic certified to quality by both a local and international certifying body using the most

updated ISO version. With this, I believe I am one of the lucky doctors thriving in a healthy

working environment. To each one of us in the clinic, there is an answer for every problem

encountered. Feedbacks shall always be considered as rooms for continuing quality

improvement.

Activity 4 : If you will be commissioned to construct the new definition of health, what term should

beincluded and why ?

Answer :

If I were commissioned to construct the new definition of health, I would include the

following terms :

Sustainable - The state of well-being should be sustained. A healthy individual can overcome

obstacles of sorts. He is a person who could adapt as well as adjust to various changes in hisexternal environment.

Emotional - Emotional quotient is equally important as intelligence quotient. Emotional is not

social. One may be sociable but emotionally unstable. A healthy individual must be emotionally

stable.


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Spiritual - A human being is made of body and soul. A person must be able to accept that he has a

soul The nourishment of mans spiritual well being is equally important as the other aspects of

health e.g. physical, emotional , social and mental. This would lead him to a better

understanding of what he is now and where he will be after. I have observed that individuals

who believe that life ends or those who follow the philosophy of this Chinese philosopher Wu

Ti popular for his saying Eat and be happy for tomorrow ye die will never be healthy.

Productive or ability to contribute to society To me, a healthy individual must have a

productive output which could be useful for the society. To me an individual with a sound mind

and body with a sound mind accumulating truckloads of diplomas and certificates is not healthy

if he simply studies and do not find work , at least to pay his taxes for the government is already

a noble mission.

With the above terms incorporated into the WHO definition of health, then it may be re-

defined as follows :

Health is a sustainable state of complete physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual

well-being resulting to individuals productivity. It is not merely the absence of disease or

infirmity.

Documents

Health Economic Activity 2012