Numerous Asian countries are now struggling to provide
people from all walks of life with better access to health care facilities.
Private companies have thrown clear signals
their support for the errand and pursuit of more effective models of developing
mutually beneficial relationships.
Thailand's Vice Minister of Public Health
Vichai Tienthavorn, while recently addressing the fourth ASEAN Symposium on
Access to Healthcare in Manila, the Philippines, stated that his country has
long set a high standard for public health facilities so that everyone could
benefit.
He said that today only 20 percent of
hospitals across Thailand are owned by private entities.
"Many people tend to go to public
hospitals," he added.
Wikipedia recorded that as of 2008 there were 1,608
registered government and private hospitals throughout the country.
He went on to say that every medical student
in Thailand had been obliged to sign a three-year contract with the government,
stating their availability to serve in rural areas once they graduated from
medical school.
"It has been the third year of
implementation and is still ongoing. If they fail to meet this requirement,
they will be fined," Tienthavorn said.
He added that some private medical schools had
also joined the cause by registering their students in the program. He did not
elaborate on the cooperation models between public and private companies.
Philippines' Asian Institute of Management's
Dr. Stephen Zuellig Center for Asian Business Transformation's executive
director, Kenneth Hartigan-Go, who also spoke at the conference, said future
homework for almost every government would involve developing the appropriate
model of social health insurance, which would enable every citizen access to
better healthcare.
"You can't put a finger on access to
healthcare without bringing the entire system along as well," he said.
The social wealth insurance scheme, he said,
could create social solidarity and in order to be able to do that the
government needed to work hand in hand with the private sector. He added that
the right partnership between public and private entities would help provide
people better access to health care facilities.
Dato' Beh Chun Chuan, founder and chairman of
BP Healthcare group of Malaysia, who also spoke at the conference, acknowledged
that he was still presently looking for an ideal partnership between the
government and the private sector.
"The government must place the right
people in this business or it could ruin the entire idea of having an ideal
partnership between the public and private sectors in providing better access
to healthcare," he said.
Ferdinal Fernando, ASEAN Secretariat's
assistant director for Health and Communicable Diseases division, who was also
in attendance, acknowledged that he had seen an emerging spirit among Asian
countries in promoting access to healthcare and healthier ways of life.
"Indonesia, for example, has shown
seriousness in bringing health issues to the regional stage. In fact, Indonesia
has become one of the promoters that have brought communicable disease issues
to a broader stage," he said.
He also corroborated the statement that
cooperation between public and private entities would be unavoidable in the
effort to provide wider access on healthcare.
"Providing better access to healthcare
has been one of our commitments written in the ASEAN welfare road map that has
been agreed in 2009. We will take a comprehensive look at this particular issue
by 2015," he said.
In the Philippines, a joint cooperation
between the public health care facility and private companies has been
implemented. The National Kidney and Transplant Institute (KNTI), for example,
is among the public institutions that receive support from Philips Healthcare
division, part of the Royal Philips Electronic, one of the world's leading
giants in medical equipment and innovative technology.
Executive director of the Philippines'
National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) Aileen Riego-Javier confirmed
the cooperation. She said the cooperation was necessary because even though
KNTI was a state-owned institution, it only received 7 percent government
funding while bearing the remaining costs on their own.
"We need to find a suitable funding
scheme to ensure our services to the public run well," she said.
Senior vice president of Philips Healthcare
Asia Pacific region Wayne Spittle said one of the ideas for the company to
support public health institutions such as KNTI was helping the institution
provide affordable medical services for everyone.
"We provide various funding models so the
recipient would then be able to apply affordable services for its
patients," he said.
Aileen said that comprehensive medical plans
were available to ensure that everyone could access proper medical treatment.
She added that the Philippines government now
provides various charity programs for less fortunate patients who need
immediate health assistance.
Nelson Lin, a businessman whose mother is
currently being treated at KNTI, however, expressed his doubt that a poor
patient could easily access treatment at KNTI.
"The treatment for my mother, for
example, costing US$500 per day, is out of reach for poor patients, even with
some form of support," he told The Jakarta Post.
Ferdinand Morabe, one of the KNTI medical practitioners,
revealed that usually if a poor patient sought medical treatment at KNTI, he or
she should bring an assessment form verified by a previous clinic in order to
confirm that they were indeed in need of specific treatment provided only by
KNTI.
"Since we are handling specific cases
related to kidneys and transplants we have to make sure that patient candidates
are going to need our specific help and are not confused with patients
suffering other health problems," he said.
Dicky Christanto in Manila/The Jakarta Post
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