Issues and concerns -- the management of Philippine hospital services post devolution : concepts, strategies and recommendations

The paper recommends that the hospital sector be aggressively managed by the Department of Health (DOH) if it is to make a significant contribution to the health of the people of the Philippines. This means that sufficient resources must be funneled into the hospital sector so that it can become an integral component of the larger health care system, and that the DOH must provide appropriate policy guidelines to the government, as well as develop a strategy and a plan for management of the 47 retained hospitals, which are a critical national resource. This paper can provide the framework for discussion of critical issues and policy recommendations of the DOH in the post devolution environment. Section I includes an overview of the relationship between hospitals and primary health care (PHC), and outlines the role of hospitals in the larger health care system. Section II presents data on the scope and size of the private, devolved, and retained hospital sectors, while Sections III and IV discuss health, hospital, and management system issues, concerns, and makes recommendations. Section V outlines hospital sector development strategies, and Section VI draws some general conclusions. Section VII contains a bibliography of relevant articles, books, monographs, and other major papers which have been produced over the last ten years concerning hospital management in the Philippines. (Author abstract)