 |
| Photo source unknown |
RELEASE DATE: 4 September 2012
For further inquiries, please contact:
Ms. Gizelle G. Manuel/Mr. Gift Baroy
Three
innovative health programs receive the Galing Likha-Kalusugan Award
CELEBRATING
Filipino ingenuity and inventiveness in the health care sector, the Philippine
Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) confers the 2nd Galing Likha-Kalusugan
(GLK) Awards to three outstanding innovative health program. These programs are
the Surveillance in Post Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (SPEED), Mother Bles
Birthing Clinics, and PhilHealth Link.
In an
awarding ceremony held at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City, these
programs were honored for their invaluable contributions in making health care
more accessible, available and affordable to Filipinos. The event was attended
by top health experts in the country led by Dr. Eduardo Banzon, president and
chief executive officer of PhilHealth.
The GLK
Award is a distinction given to public and private organizations that best
exemplify the highest level of innovation in the country’s health marketplace. GLK
prides itself to be the first and only award that specifically honors
ground-breaking and promising health programs and initiatives that have significantly
solved a particular problem plaguing the country’s health care system. As such,
GLK hopes to be the stamp for excellence and innovation in the field of health
care delivery, finance, facilitation, regulation, and promotion. In addition,
it hopes to promote and encourage creative and fresh approaches in uplifting
our countrymen’s health.
GLK is a
joint initiative of PIDS and the Center for Health Market Innovation (CHMI), an
international organization devoted to identifying and replicating innovative
health programs around the world. Now on its second year, the CHMI in the
Philippines identified and documented 80 innovative health programs. And through
a meticulous screening process conducted by the PIDS and several esteemed
health experts, ten (10) of these programs were shortlisted for the award. Of
these programs, three emerged truly outstanding in concept, implementation, and
impact and were honored and recognized as the top recipients of the first
Galing Likha-Kalusugan Awards.
SPEED is an
early warning disease surveillance system for post-disaster situation launched
by Department of Health and World Health Organization in 2010. The aim of the
system is to determine early and potential disease outbreaks and monitor disease
trends. It contributes immensely in reducing preventable deaths and diseases by
enabling timely and appropriate response by local government officials. Using
web-based software technology which can receive data via SMS, the system
enables online data validation and automatic generation of necessary reports. Thus,
it makes the transmission of syndromic diseases information from barangay or
evacuation centers to all levels of the health system country in a short period
of time.
 |
| Photo from APPI Powerpoint presentation. |
Mother Bles
Birthing Clinics (MBBC) are networks of PhilHealth-accredited birthing health
facility started in Leyte Province. The program aims to provide poor pregnant
women with accessible and affordable maternal and infant health care services. Ninety-five
(95) percent of clients of MBBC are PhilHealth indigent members, and the
remaining five percent are either non-PhilHealth or paying clients. The
business model of Mother Bles Clinics harnesses the comparative advantages of
the following sectors through private-public partnership: KaKaK Foundation Inc.,
private practicing midwives, municipal and provincial government.
PhilHealthLINK
is a call center for PhilHealth members, a collaborative enterprise supported
by provincial local government units who want to maximize reimbursement from
PhilHealth so that LGU health facilities can have a steady revenue stream. This
project was launched by PhilHealth Region VIII in 2010. PhilHealth LINK is
particularly useful for households whose premiums are subsidized by local
government units under the Sponsored Program, and who may not be fully aware of
the benefits they are entitled to and how these may be availed of.
With the
success of the second GLK Awards, PIDS vows to continue its search and recognition
of innovative health programs in the country. In line with the global thrust
for universal health care and the promotion and encouragement of creative and
fresh approaches and solutions to the country’s health care problems, the PIDS
and its partner, the CHMI, thereby hopes to create a healthier and better
nation.
###