👩🏻‍⚕️ Health Systems

The clip taught me how although Health care, which is the patient-physician relations all administered to maintain, restore, and or improve one’s health, is indeed a vital component of a Health System’s operation and mission, it isn’t the sole proprietor nor the only intended design. Health Systems not only pertain to the propelling of patient health through proper health care, but it focuses on a wide range of activities that emphasize producing enhanced and better health outcomes. These could be in the form of leadership and policy-making, the formulation of committees, the collaboration of organizations and institutions to fight for health and safety-related causes, etc. I realized how it isn’t fair or right to simply close off our perception of Health Systems as just Health care as it is a vital component in strengthening health foundations. To alleviate ignorance regarding this subject matter is a collective responsibility as knowing these will surely allow more people to contribute meaningful innovations to the system and the mandating bodies in the future.

🏥 Philippine Health system

A working Health System in a certain country assures the providence of universal and equitable access to health care and other health-related services. Such that having an adequate system at work eases the burden on relevant sectors, enhances a country’s ability to respond to urgent events on/linked with a population’s health, and boosts its aptness at formulating policies that positively influence health outcomes.

In the Philippine reality, the Department of Health (DOH), along with other partner organizations, is the active mandating body that inaugurates and facilitates the country’s Healthcare Delivery System. I learned how, more than just a national department that handles healthcare institutions, the DOH also put great emphasis on (1) good leadership in health as the advocates and people in charge of creating health policies and projects, (2) becoming the bridge and way to building new health strategies and ensuring quality standards are met, and (3) guaranteeing the proper management of all regulated facilities as the administrators of specific services.

But it is also obvious that the Philippine Health System has lapsed and is lacking in proper implementation as we have not achieved the Department’s vision and mission within their set expected timeframe (Filipinos becoming part of the healthiest people in Southeast Asia by 2022). Most of these faults spiral around the continuous surging cases of diseases and poor management within certain institutions, and how free Universal healthcare is not accessible nationwide.

❤️‍🩹 Primary Health Care

Rather than focusing only on treating particular illnesses within a given population, Primary healthcare is centered on the treatment of the individuals that are part of such a fraction. It is people-centered and therefore places the improved health of a given group at the utmost priority. This is achieved through actively working on three major components, such that one can describe primary health care to be effective if all aspects are perpetually met and enhanced. Those are: (1) the objective of empowering individuals who are perfectly capable of looking after themselves through advocating correctly administered health care and the proliferation of an active, healthy lifestyle, (2) cultivating meaningful changes and impacting all aspects of health through the creation of policies that enforce action at all present levels, and (3) the formulation of routine public health duties that serve as the foundation of integrated health services.

I learned how primary health care is multidimensional. It is for the people, who are the givers and the benefactors of health care and other safety-related services. It encourages groups to take on a vital role in their own health and choices in life. This is thereby done through educating and entitling them to always choose wellness and to know the importance of cooperation in the enactment of health care. Likewise, primary care is also about policy-making at a managerial level. Leaders must be willing to serve the cause and create SMART plans to better alleviate the holes in one’s health systems. Lastly, it all boils down to the capacity of all involved parties to work together to truly abound meaningful impacts – this being the core of primary health care.