An evaluation of the Medical Pool Placement and Utilization Program (MedPool PUP) of the Philippine Department of Health

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Medical Pool Placement and Utilization Program (MedPool PUP) of the Philippine Department of Health whose purpose is to augment the medical resource requirements of public hospitals.  METHOD: Mix method was used to gather data through a questionnaire survey sent by fax, email or postal mail. Beneficiary hospitals were selected and key informant interviews done to both the executive officers and the deployed medical pool physicians to further gain insights on the results of the survey.  RESULTS: A total of 75 public hospitals were beneficiaries of the MedPool PUP covering all hospital categories- Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 hospitals. Fifty-one hospitals responded to the survey. Justifications for requesting deployment include: a) need for additional physicians (43%), b) need for a medical specialist of a given clinical specialty (23%), c) need for accredited specialists to maintain a residency training accreditation (23%), d) need for substitute doctors while their regular doctors undergo training (8%) and e) need for a trainer of a specific medical specialty (2%). Almost all deployed doctors have finished a residency training program belonging to a medical specialty. Although the work descriptions covering the deployment of the MedPool doctors are focused on providing medical care to the patients, the contributions to the achievements of the hospitals s by the MedPool doctors go beyond these. They are also involved in medical training of other doctors, many are also given additional assignments in clinical administration and researches. Some also get involved in outreach services. Many exceptional contributions to the hospitals were given by the deployed doctors. In 12 out of 16 (75%) hospitals visited, the doctors deployed were able to introduce new clinical services such as heart surgery, ophthalmology, renal transplant, hepato-biliary surgery, automation of clinical laboratory procedures, among others. This is the primary basis for this study to conclude that the MedPool PUP is effective. CONCLUSION: The effectiveness of the MedPool PUP has been shown to go beyond augmenting the medical staffs of public hospitals in providing services. The doctors it deployed have contributed significantly in improving the clinical services by introducing new specialty services and enhancing existing ones. It is recommended that MedPool PUP be continued and strengthened to fill the needs of public hospitals based on a system of priorities. 

Health human resource needs of government hospitals in the Philippines

OBJECTIVE: To describe the health human resource needs of government hospitals in the Philippines.METHODS: All 733 licensed government hospitals were included in a survey except 75 of them which the Department of Health have been deploying medical specialists and medical officers to augment the needs of these 75 hospitals.RESULTS: A total of 96 government hospitals responded to the self-administered survey questionnaire sent to them. Analysis showed 20% to 29% among the level 2, level 3 and level 4 hospital responders have their Chief of Hospitals still without a master's education degree as required by the Department of Health. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of all hospitals do not have nearby medical educational institutions while 28% of them do not have nearby nursing educational institutions.The greatest need, however, is in the adequacy of the number of doctors and nurses. The minimum required number of doctors and nurses has not been met based on the staffing pattern standards set by the Department of Health for the different hospital categories and by the required 40 work hours per week set for civil servants.CONCLUSION: The decline in the adequate number of health human resources noted to start when local public hospitals were devolved from the national government to the local government units in 1991. With this inadequacy, one cannot expect these public hospitals to provide even fair quality of hospital care; thus, the need for the national government to intervene.

Partnership for health development through the field practice

This article describes the partnership between the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila and the province of Laguna in the context of implementation of the field practice course. This partnership paved the way for the development and implementation of projects in seven field practice sites. Projects concentrated mainly on improving quality of data and health information system, development of educational materials, and addressing health problems such as tuberculosis, hypertension and rabies. After the implementation of the various activities, there is a need for both parties (the College of Public Health and the Provincial Health Office of Laguna) to monitor and evaluate if projects have been sustained. Moreover, successful projects must also be fully documented which can serve as models for other areas in the province of Laguna.