A Wholesome Blog Site by A Pinay Mommy: Reviewer's Haven

To the followers and soon to be followers of the Philippine Hospital Association's blog site, I beg your kind indulgence.  This topic is about a wholesome blogsite, the Reviewer's Haven,  that I stumbled on tonight while searching for a blog/online contest to join as partial fulfillment of the requirements as a student in the course "Certified Blog and Social Enterpreneur".


As stated in the "About Section" of the site, the "Reviewer’s Haven is a personal blog owned and managed by Pinay Mommy Online. This blog was created to provide the blogger’s personal reviews on websites and online shopping sites. This blog also aims to provide occasional tips and resources with regards to online businesses and blogging. Since this is a personal blog, occasional personal posts about life in general can also be found here".

I found the postings of past topics simple, easy to read, but informative. Sample topics therein are:

1.  The Practicality of Roadside Assistance Plan

2.  I Finally Found A Solution For Dark Circles

3.  Symptoms of OverAbudance Of Testosterone

4.  Let Us Take Care Of Our Bodies

5.  Sore Muscles, Solutions Anyone? 

The foregoing are just samples and if you want to read more of "Mommy's" life musings, you can go to her homepage:  http://www.reviewershaven.net

I hope you enjoy the stories she weaves which reminded me of the type of things my mother used to say and do to the family.

A Thursday Concert at the GSIS MUSEUM: ‘Ay Yano Ka Naman Ay!’ by Himig Banahaw.

This is a blog that I thought everyone and not only PHA’ers would like.  Take a breather from your busy schedules, read and relax.  I hope you enjoy the photos as well.

The GSIS Museum is truly a place lovers of art should see. 

It contains a collection of paintings by various Filipino artists, most notable of which are pieces by Amorsolo, Botong Francisco, Federico Alcuaz, Hernando Ocampo, among others.

More  photos of pieces displayed in the GSIS Museum:

Late last week, I received a text message from the amiable and hard working Museum Manager, Ryan Palad, to attend a free concert at the GSIS Museum in the evening of 26^th May, 2011. 

Invitation:

That’s moi:

I arrived at the museum at 6pm and got the chance to go around and enjoy the art pieces in the lobby as well as in the lower museum level.  It seems there are something new always going on in the place.  This time, they are celebrating the life and works of a National Artist, Hernando Ocampo, giving prominence to his works. 

Photos of some of Hernando Ocampo’s works:

I then saw the Museum Manager, Ryan Palad and he led me to the area where the “Himig Banahaw” would be performing.  It was truly an auspicious setting. A low platform/stage was set up amidst the works of art of various artists , with the painting “History of Music” by Fernando Amorsolo as backdrop.  It is a mural painting that used to adorn the old Manila Metropolitan Theatre (MET).  The said painting, as stories would have it, was found abandoned in a corner of the similarly forlorned (pre restoration) MET .  The painting survived bombings  during the Japanese occupation as well as several calamities.

Photo with Museum Manager Ryan Palad and my son Maickey, with a copy (done by artist San Miguel) of the Amorsolo painting "History of Dance" on the background:

I took my seat among the 50 or mix of young and not so young audience and the program started with the choral rendition by Himig Banahaw of the Philippine National Anthem.  I thought I have never heard that hymn sang as beautifully as the way it was delivered by the group that night.

The group consisted of young artists (one is a nurse, another is a teacher, and the rest are students) who hail from different parts of Quezon Province, bonded by their love for music. Song after song, the crowd was generous with their applause and when the group took their bow and bidded their goodbyes, shouts of encore made them go back the stage to sing another song .  Vhyck Nosce (hope I got it spelled right but I wouldn’t know how to pronounce it ), their musical director who accompanied and joined the group in the singing , did a good job, especially with the song he wrote reminiscent of his childhood years in Tayabas, Quezon, by the foot of Mr. Banahaw:  “Ay Yano Ka Naman, Ay!”. Good job too by the Museum Staff led by Ryan Palad.

Photos of the group:

 The group taking a bow before the audience after the performance :

The every last  Thursday of the month series will go on up to November of this year, barring an earlier closure of the museum. News items had it that the priceless art pieces are to be auctioned off to raise funds to pay for the GSIS’ indebtedness.   That would certainly be a pity, don't you think?

Philippine Hospitals Brought Out 6 Of Its Many Sentiments In Its Position Paper

Wage Boards of some of the Philippine’s regions have implemented varying COLA/wage increases for minimum wage earners.  The Philippine Hospital Association and the Private Hospitals Association  submitted its position paper to the Regional Tripartite Wage Board-NCR. Nonetheless, the PhP 22/day increase in allowance for minimum wage earners in the NCR came out. The cries of the PHA have fallen unto deaf ears and the difficulties cited by the hospitals in that position paper persist.

In a nutshell, the 6 sentiments enumerated in the position paper below, are the following:

1.  THE CHEAPER MEDICINES LAW AND ITS MAXIMUM DRUG RETAIL PRICE 

2.  THE ILLEGAL DETENTION LAW 

3.  THE SENIOR CITIZENS’ DISCOUNT LAW & THE MAGNA CARTA OF DISABLED 

           PERSONS LAW

4.  DELAYED PAYMENT OR UNPAID CLAIMS FOR REIMBURSEMENTS BY HOSPITALS

           FROM THE PHILIPPINE HEALTH INSURANCE CORPORATION (PHIC) OR 

           PHILHEALTH 

5. UNFAIRNESS OF THE EXPANDED 

6.  OTHER LAWS THAT  IMPOSE NEW FINANCIAL BURDEN ON HOSPITALS   

          (CLEAN AIR ACT AND FIRE SAFETY CODE)

The government may have good reasons for some of those impositions but there is clearly a need  for temperance and balance.  Capacities to comply and mitigation of difficulties towards compliance must be taken into consideration by the government lest, we stand to see the demise of more hospitals. 

In the hope of somehow tempering the public’s perception of the hospitals as “anti-poor”,  hereunder reproduced in its entirety is the copy of the  position paper it has submitted to the DOLE. The points raised herein are not only for the petition vs the minimum wage.  It also  brings out the not so publicized woes of hospitals in view of the burdens that have been passed on to them by concerned agencies of the government. All these concerns   have been formally brought to the attention of concerned agencies who were all more than happy to lend sympathetic ears but sad to say, with nary any significant results todate. 

JOINT POSITION PAPER ON

THE PROPOSED WAGE HIKE

There is no other institution in the employer’s sector that is most vulnerable to financial losses than the private hospital sector as a result of a series of laws and regulations that continue to prejudice its interests. These constrain the Philippine Hospital Association and the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines to oppose the proposed wage hike to stop the hemorrhaging of the industry and give this a chance to recover. Specifically, the reasons are as follows:

THE CHEAPER MEDICINES LAW AND ITS

MAXIMUM DRUG RETAIL PRICE

The implementation of the Cheaper Medicines Law mandated hospitals to comply with a ceiling on the pricing of medicines as defined by the Department of Health (DOH). This DOH-mandated price is known as the “Maximum Drug Retail Price” or MDRP of essential medicines.

When this MDRP first took effect, DOH failed to consider that all private hospitals have existing pharmacy inventories on-stock already purchased from suppliers and the manufacturers at higher prices. Thus, if for example a hospital purchased a certain medicine from the manufacturer at a price of Php 1.00 and the MDRP program directs the hospital to sell it at a price of Php0.50, how will the hospital be able to recover its loss of Php 0.50?

Lamentably, the private hospitals have not been given any answer to this burning question. Since 1/3 of the hospitals’ income comes from the sales of medicines from the hospital pharmacy, they hurt and continue to hurt over these unresolved issues that negatively impact on its already measly bottom line.

THE ILLEGAL DETENTION LAW BURDENS

THE OPERATION OF HOSPITALS

Following the passage and the implementation of the R.A. 9439 or the Illegal Detention Law, the hospitals experienced and continues to experience a surge in the number of confined patients in private hospitals who insist on being discharged without paying their hospital bills and with just a promissory note, by invoking the provisions of this law. To dramatically illustrate this point, can anyone enter a restaurant, order food and drinks and leave with just a promissory note? Definitely not. Why then was this allowed in the hospital industry, where patients are given the necessary medicines, supplies, room and board and patient care and after ‘consuming’ all these goods and services these recipients of care can just walk away?

The resulting data is a testament of how detrimental this law has been to the hospitals. Out of ten (10) promissory notes issued by patients, only 1 out 10 or a mere 10% are fully paid, 3 out of 10 or only 30% are partially paid while the remaining 60% become bad debts. Many of these hospitals learn too late, that these patients are NPAs - with no permanent addresses.

This law also encouraged even a number of well-to-do patients who profess to be indigent to take advantage of the shelter provided under the Illegal Detention Law. This law significantly affected the collection of hospital accounts, raising the accounts receivables to a whopping 25%-30% of the revenues generated. This prompted hospitals to call this piece of legislation the “Killing Me Softly Law”.

As if this is not enough, lawsuits are also filed against hospitals by arrogant patients who misconstrue even a small delay in the discharge process as being held against their will for unpaid hospital bills.

The question that begs to be asked is “what has the government done to assist the hospitals on the unpaid promissory notes?”. The answer to this day – NOTHING AT ALL.

THE SENIOR CITIZENS’ DISCOUNT LAW & THE

MAGNA CARTA OF DISABLED PERSONS LAW

Hardest hit in the implementation of the Senior Citizens’ Discount Law and the Magna Carta of Disabled Persons Law by way of illustration are the hospitals; if the hospital buys supplies (e.g. medicines) at a price of P100.00, and puts a mark-up ceiling of 10%, it stands to incur a loss of 10% whenever a senior citizen and/or disabled persons avail of the mandatory 20% discount they are entitled to under the law.

Furthermore, this privilege is unlimited no matter how many times the senior citizen avails of this even if for confinements due to the same disease. Again, we in the hospital industry ask the government this question: “How will the hospital recover this 10% loss?”. In countries where this same law is applied, the establishments are reimbursed by the state for the equivalent of the discount/s extended. This law passed Philippine style omitted that safety net and instead passed on the burden solely to the private enterprises – and its implementation is tantamount to taxation.

These two laws apparently provide for tax incentives when implemented but the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) imposes a ceiling on the tax incentive – and this is left to the discretion of the different BIR regional offices who have different ways of interpreting these two laws, i.e. some will give tax incentives and some will not.

We hasten to point out that we in the hospital industry are not opposed to the spirit and intent of these two laws; all we are asking is for the government to do something to help the hospitals recover their losses as a result of their implementation like reducing our applicable tax rate or excluding the industry in the mandatory wages to give it a breathing space. Not to provide these safety nets may deplete the hospitals’ resources which in turn will affect the ability of the hospitals to sustain their operation. Ultimately, this will affect its ability to serve the senior citizens and the disabled - the age group most commonly in need of medical care.

The laws must serve the needs of the population but in this instance, it renders the industry futile that the cure has in effect become itself the disease.

DELAYED PAYMENT OR UNPAID CLAIMS

FOR REIMBURSEMENTS BY HOSPITALS

FROM THE PHILIPPINE HEALTH INSURANCE

CORPORATION (PHIC) OR PHILHEALTH

Approximately 65-70% of patients confined in private hospitals are Philhealth/PHIC-covered patients. It can immediately be deduced that 65%-70% of the hospitals’ revenues are being “lent” to PHIC. To continue its viable operation, the hospitals should be paid/reimbursed by PHIC on-time and without delay.

Sadly, this has not been the case. Private hospitals have been complaining for quite some time now about delayed/unpaid receivables from PHIC – some even taking as long as three (3) years to be reimbursed. This situation adversely affect the ability of the  

Joint Position Paper On Proposed Wage Hike

hospitals to finance its operation i.e. salaries of personnel, suppliers payment, etc., creating a domino effect where the one who will end up suffering will be the patients.

PHIC/Philhealth is also known to slash claims for reimbursement by hospitals, only paying as low as only 60% of the claims without even offering any explanation. How would the hospital have any hope of recovering from the patient the amount disallowed/unreimbursed? What has the government done to assist hospitals with this problem? Until today, nothing has been heard of from those responsible despite repeated demands by hospitals.

Adding insult to the injury, PHIC always seems to be in a hurry to file charges against hospitals for ‘supposed’ violations of the National Health Insurance Law. Under this law, the Philhealth is the investigator, the prosecutor, the judge and the executor all at the same time. In reality, most decisions of the Philhealth are perceived to be unjust and unfair to hospitals. Only when the Philhealth Law is amended can hospitals probably expect a change for the better. Until then, the hospitals are caught in a vicious cycle that is spinning out of control.

While the industry welcomes the effort of PHIC to impose quality standards as a requirement for continuing accreditation, it has not exacted the same standards from itself and rendered it a one-sided implementation. Other than the high cost of implementing the requirements, there must be a ‘reward’ for compliance – and the hospitals ask for nothing but what they should be entitled to in the interest of fairness and justice – just for timely payment of what they are owed, nothing more, nothing less.

UNFAIRNESS OF THE EXPANDED

VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT) LAW

Purchases made by hospitals are covered by the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT). In other words, if a manufacturer sells a medicinal product to a distributor, a 10% VAT is imposed and this is passed on to the distributor who in turn, passes on this 10% VAT to the retailer (e.g. hospitals and drugstores). In effect, a 20% increase of the price of medicine is passed on to the hospital. These hospitals are however not allowed to pass on the VAT to the patient, and it has to absorb it.

Is there a solution being offered that will relieve the hospitals from this VAT pain? None at all, to date.

OTHER LAWS IMPOSE NEW FINANCIAL BURDEN ON HOSPITALS

The strict implementation of the new requirements of the Clean Air Act and the Fire Safety Code carries with it the added financial burden on the cash position of hospitals. The Fire Departments of the respective local government units do not give permit to the hospital if it has no water sprinkler system. This condition applies even to the already old and existing hospitals. The sprinkler system requirement will mean an additional cost burden of no less than a hundred thousand pesos to from each hospital.

The Clean Air Act likewise imposes rigid conditions for water supply and waste disposal program before clearances are issued for the operation of the hospital. Again, this will entail substantial cost to the hospital. And again, there is no relief on sight that the government can extend to.

WAGE HIKE WILL FURTHER BURDEN

HOSPITALS ALREADY REELING FROM THE

SEVERELY STRAINED FINANCIAL SITUATION

Approximately 26%-35% of the hospital budget goes to the salaries of the hospital staff, the industry being labor-intensive. A wage hike at this time when hospitals are still at the height of their agony brought about by the unrelenting effect of the previously enumerated legislations may bring this industry to the Intensive Care Unit, fighting for its survival. Already about 600 hundred hospitals have closed as a result of the present situation.

A fair concept of health must follow this equation: “Health = Healed + Healer” where the healer is the health service provider the hospital included. Both the healer and the healed must be protected equally in order to attain improvement in health condition. Both are indispensable parties for a successful health program of the government.  Neglecting one and favor only the other will definitely affect the results.

Wherefore, premises considered, we in the hospital industry submit that now is NOT the time to impose a “wage hike order” upon hospitals as this will certainly hasten the deterioration of its already comatose condition. We want the industry to first become stable, move out of the intensive care and be nursed back to health, with a lot of government intervention. A wage hike at this time will only hasten the demise of the hospital industry, and the biggest loser will be the public or the patients we serve.

RUBEN C. FLORES, M.D. P r e s i d e n t Philippine Hospital Association (PHA)

RUSTICO JIMENEZ, M.D. P r e s i d e n t Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP)

The PHilippine Hospital Association and the RH Bill: "LIFE BEGINS AT FERTILIZATION".

Today, the Philippine Hospital Association's (PHA) blog site features the thoughts on the RH BILL of its Public Relations Officer (PRO), |Atty. Bu Castro, MD.,  currently a  Director of PHA . He is both a doctor and a physician and  is a pathologist by specialty.  He was President of the Philippine Medical Association and and Chairman of the Department of Forensic and Legal Medicine, St. Luke's Medical Center and William H. Quasha Memorial College of Medicine, and of the College of Medicine of MCU-FDT Memorial Medical Foundation, and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. He is a founding partner of Castro Rebosa Rebosa Law Offices. He is likewise the Legal Counsel of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP) and Board Member of the Philippine Hospital Association. Currently, he is the President of the Alliance of All Health Organizations of the Nation Philippines (AAHON-Phil).

His contributed blog follows:

"The PHA stand (joint with the PMA and the PHAP) on the RH bill needs some few further explanations.  Fr all its noble intentions and purposes, the PHA supports the RH Bill but only to that extent that it is founded on the principle that “life begins at fertilization”. There is overabundance of scientific facts supporting this stance and it need not be further elaborated here.  The PHA, however, stays away from the RH bill for all its tendency to result to abortion practices with the use of some kind of contraceptives.  This is adding to the fact that most of the contraceptives have been shown to have serious side effects on the mother.  Why should only the mother bear the brunt of the ill effects of RH bill such that the RH bill itself seems to be discriminatory against women.  

     On a secular level, if the RH bill is to achieve something, it is a nation that is so divided.  This must not be the history of the passage of a legislative bill into law.  For this reason alone, it would be better that the RH bill be shelved if only to avoid a nation in tremendous schism. If the RH bill is advocated to be pro-choice, then it has already achieved its purpose.  Let us leave the family in their quiet home and decide for themselves about the size of their family or choose which device they will employ to trim the number of children but not without, however, the mandatory knowledge about the contraceptives, their benefits, risks and side effects, and the alternative methods.  This is by the way already being done since then and up to now.    

     For the RH oppositors,  moral deterioration is the substance of the RH bill. For the supporters, it is all about the right of the mother to choose and decide what is good for her family.  For the PHA, it is both, but never for abortion and never to a nation so divided. – Dr Bu C. Castro, PHA PRO and Board of Director". 

INITIAL TEST OF THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA: The Philippine Hospital Assn Davao Conference for Regions XI, XII and ARMM

Begging the indulgence of non PHA stakeholders who may be following this page, kindly allow me to post the program for the upcoming PHA Conference in Davao City's Marco Polo Hotel for the benefit of the hospital members in the area. Being a novice blogger, I will really need help from everyone in the form of suggestions and comments as to how I can effectively promote my blogs.

As I have postulated in the earlier posts, the SOCIAL MEDIA Project of the organization has as its basic objective, the ability to reach out to its general membership and other stakeholders of the organization. While the PHA Secretariat have sent out only the other day the emailed invitations for members  to join its Facebook Fan Page and check out the PHA blog site, it is with much eagerness that we await positive indications of increased attendance owing to the new media. I have been given a glimpse this morning during the webinar mentoring session the power of promoting a blog through "bit.ly", "Facebook" and being hooked up with blog communities. In a span of less than 15 minutes, visits/readership of the PHA blog site as registered in the blogger.com Statistics tool spiked up four times from its start up number.

Hereunder is the details of the program for the May 29th, 2011 PHA event at the Marco Polo, Davao City.

PHA P R O G R A M M E - DAVAO CONFERENCE

7:30 A.M.	REGISTRATION
	EARLY BIRDS’ PRE-OPENING CEREMONIES SESSIONS
8:15am	Cash Flow Solution to Hospitals’ Equipment Needs	Mr. Samuel C. Tang VP/Treasurer, BPI Leasing Corporation
9:00am	The Value of Social Media/Networking (Facebook, You Tube & the like) in Healthcare	Mr. Umbert Virtucio Marketing Consultant, COMLOGIK Business System
9:40am-10:00am	SNACKS BREAK
	PART I-OPENING CEREMONIES
10:00am	Invocation
	Islam  POTRI  DISOMIMBA-ALI Chief of Hospital, Tamparan Medical Foundation	Christian SERGIO V. MANAGAN, MD Medical Director, Manangan Hospital
	Philippine National Anthem	MS. LIEZEL LOM-OC Administrator, Medical Mission Group Hospital
	Opening & Recognition of PHA BOD  , Chapter & Council Presidents & Guests Speaker	JESUS M. JARDIN, MD PHA Vice President for Mindanao
	Welcome Remarks	HON. SARA Z. DUTERTE - City Mayor
	Inspirational Message and Guest Speaker	HON. ANTHONY ROLANDO GOLEZ, JR, MD House of Representative, Vice Chair Com on Health
	2011 Annual National Convention Updates	JANET DEL MUNDO-TAN, MD  National Secretary, PHA Co-Chairman, 2011 Annual National Convention
	Treasurer’s  Report	EDGARDO V. SALUD, MD, MHA National Treasurer, PHA
	Message from PHA’s Major Partner	MR. EDGARDO A.  KANAPI  Director, PRMD UNILAB
	President’s Time	RUBEN C. FLORES, MD,MHA-President, PHA
	Part II
11:00am	Insomnia, Anxiety & Depression: Their Relation to Stress”	By Medichem/Unilab Resource Speaker
11:30am	Messages & UPDATES	KADIL M. SINOLINDING, MD ARMM, Health Secretary
	DOH  Updates	BEAUTY A. PALONG-PALONG, MD  Director III, Licensing & Accreditation Divn, BHFS-DOH
	DOH Regional  Updates	TEOGENES BALUMA, MD,MPH  Director IV, DOH-CHD Region XI  ABDULLAH B. DUMAMA, JR., MD, MPH Director IV, DOH-CHD  Socsksargen, Region XII
	Open Forum	JESUS M. JARDIN, MD PHA Vice President for Mindanao,   Moderator

                                                               

RUBEN G. ROBILLO, MD - President PHA Region XI Council Master of Ceremonies-MORNING SESSIONS

                                                                                                                               

Lunch Break         Lunch Break         Lunch Break

                 

                                                                                               

PART  III
	Legal and Ethical Issues in Hospital &Medical Practice	ATTY. LEO O. OLARTE, MD Legal Counsel, PHA
	PHIC New Benefits: Financial Protection	ISRAEL FRANCIS A. PARGAS, MD Senior Manager, PHIC Benefits Development & Research Department
	Legal Process in Philhealth	ATTY. JAY R. VILLEGAS Senior Manager, PHIC Prosecution Department
	PHIC Updates on Hospital Claims Reimbursement	MR. DENNIS B. ADRE PHIC RO AVP Region XI
		MR. RAMON F. ARISTOZA, JR PHIC RO AVP, Region XII
		ATTY. KHALIQUZZMAN MACABATO PHIC RO AVP ARMM
Coffee Break          Coffee Break          Coffee Break
Open Forum CONRADO M. BRAÑA, JR., MD, MHA Director PHA Moderator

               

RAFFLE                                RAFFLE                                RAFFLE

                                                                                                                                                               

                                               

RENATO  O. DIAGAN, MD                                                                             President, PHA Region XII Chapter Master of Ceremonies- AFTERNOON SESSIONS

                                                                       7-POINT AGENDA :  “ BE  A  HERO ”

We are hoping that our member hospitals in the subject area will be able to make it.

Thank you.
PHA E.O.
May 22, 2011