As an archipelago of over 7,000 islands, the Philippines faces considerable obstacles in providing equitable access to healthcare including medicines. Universal health coverage can only be achieved when there is access to safe, effective, and quality healthcare, including medicines, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Takeda Healthcare Philippines organized the Access to Medicines Summit with the aim of identifying challenges and co-creating solutions to achieve sustainable and equitable access to medicines in the country. Themed “Building Bridges: A Blueprint for Collaborative and Innovative Access to Medicines,” the two-day summit brought together 206 stakeholders from the government, the healthcare sector, non-governmental organizations, patient advocacy groups, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Based on the insights during the summit, Takeda created “Charting a course for sustainable and equitable access to medicines in the Philippines: Proposed roadmap to implementation.” The roadmap discusses government, civil society, and NGO initiatives to address barriers to healthcare and medicines access within the framework of four focus areas for access. These areas for access are the patient journey, health education, advocacy, and supply chain.
As part of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, which mandates structural and functional changes in health financing, service delivery, and governance with the goal of achieving UHC, the Department of Health (DoH) is implementing the agency’s medium- to long-term Eight-Point Action Agenda, Para sa Healthy Pilipinas 2023-2028. The action agenda aims to improve health outcomes, strengthen health systems, and enhance access to all levels of care in the country.
Some years ago, the government also established Malasakit Centers in general hospitals to improve access for indigent patients. At these centers, financially incapable patients can conveniently request special assistance from government agencies, charities, and patient advocacy groups in one place.
Beyond the initiatives implemented by the central government, there are also regional schemes for local populations. The Provincial Government of Pangasinan, for example, is implementing the Kalusugan Karaban (Health Caravan) initiative, which delivers mobile health services, including free medical consultations and laboratory services, to remote areas in the province.
After determining that hospital re-admissions are driven by patients not completing courses of medication, the Eastern Visayas Medical Center is implementing Project Tambal (Take-Home Medications Benefit Assistance Link), which provides patients with a complete course of medication for free upon their discharge from hospital.
Public-private partnerships can also provide innovative solutions for expanding and improving access to healthcare and medicines. Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) aimed at accelerating the implementation of Access to Medicines programs of PHAP members and building a strong ecosystem to broaden healthcare access.
Implementation of the MoU began with Project Genesis, a health-profiling study of the healthcare status, patterns of healthcare use, medicine access, and expenditure of 1,000 households in Baguio City.
The Philippine Pharmacists Association is implementing its Immunizing Pharmacist Certification Program, which provides training to pharmacists in administering vaccines to broaden access to vaccines in the country. To date, more than 1,200 pharmacists have been certified through the program.
In Quezon City, healthcare information technology company MedProjects is collaborating with local healthcare providers to pilot the Health Care Information System, a secure, cloud-based health IT system. The pilot program has led to increased patient access to data and patient empowerment, improved data management, and reduced work burden of healthcare providers.
Philanthropic programs implemented by both government and patient advocacy groups help enhance underprivileged patients’ access to healthcare and medicines. Since 1990, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has been implementing its Medical Assistance Program (MAP) which provides qualified patients with financial assistance, in partnership with government and private hospitals, health facilities, medicine retailers, and other partners.
Since 2016, Hemophilia Advocates Philippines (HAP) has assisted over 1,000 patients with the cost of 3,000 treatments for hemophilia, primarily through overseas charitable donations. However, customs duties and taxes on hemophilia medicines add to the financial burden of patients. HAP continues to advocate for a more sustainable source of funding for hemophilia care through the inclusion of hemophilia in the PhilHealth Z benefit packages.
Members of the Cancer Coalition Philippines, meanwhile, provides patients with access to cancer medicines through charitable donations.
The challenge of providing access to safe, effective and quality healthcare and medicines rests on multi-stakeholder initiatives and public-private partnerships committed to the same goal of improving the health outcomes of the people.
Teodoro B. Padilla is the executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines which represents the biopharmaceutical medicines and vaccines industry in the country. Its members are in the forefront of research and development efforts for COVID-19 and other diseases that affect Filipinos.
Multisectoral efforts to broaden access to medicines
Philippines Pandemic
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