WHILE the lack of nurses in public and private hospitals is a given thing, accepted by most everybody in the medical profession and the healthcare industry, the dwindling number of practicing doctors in the Philippines has become the topic of an ongoing debate, especially because we have a new Secretary of Health in the person of Dr. Ted Herbosa.
Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino pointed out in his speech at the 93rd National Assembly of the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines in Baguio City recently, that as days go by, the population of local physicians continues to shrink as many among their ranks seek greener pastures abroad.
He noted that there are more babies than pediatricians; that the country only has around 169,000 physicians for the population of more than 101 million. Of this number, he said only about 49 percent are currently active in the local medical profession.
‘We also have the Doktor Para Sa Bayan Act, Republic Act 11509… which should soon produce medical scholars and full-fledged doctors to be deployed in far-flung barangays.’
According to Tolentino, the country needs at least “10 doctors for every 10,000 Filipinos” to have an accessible medical health care in the country. But we have only four physicians for every 10,000 residents, while surgeons compose only 0.2 percent of our doctors.
The senator emphasized the need for the country to have a more accessible health program as doctor shortage remains one of the main hurdles to healthcare delivery.
To address this critical challenge, Tolentino urged the Professional Regulation Commission and members of Congress “to open their minds” by allowing the amendment of Republic Act No. 8981 or the PRC Modernization Act of 2000 to authorize foreign licensed doctors to practice locally in various parts of the country for a longer period, and for purposes of technology transfer.
The president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) reacted to this suggestion, saying there is no need for the country’s hospitals to hire foreign doctors to facilitate technology transfer.
Dr. Rontgene Solante said the country has no dearth of competent physicians and specialists, and government should instead “prioritize the enhancement of programs” that will send more Filipino doctors abroad for further training.
“We have more than enough doctors capable and competent to be trained abroad. Best practices and improvements can be achieved by supporting them rather than hiring foreign doctors,” he said.
Solante said the PCP is always in favor of enhancing the transfer of technology, adding that “this is not new in our healthcare system because a lot of hospitals and training programs have collaborated with big centers to upgrade knowledge in medicine.”
Aside from correctly pointing out the problem of compensation for these foreign doctors, the PCP head is also on the right track in advocating further training for our doctors and specialists, whether here or abroad.
It is also timely to support and ramp up the Department of Science and Technology’s Balik Scientists Program which includes physicians and other medical professionals. We also have the Doktor Para Sa Bayan Act, Republic Act 11509 authored by Quezon Gov. Dr. Helen Tan when she was congresswoman, and signed by President Rodrigo Duterte, which should soon produce medical scholars and full-fledged doctors to be deployed in far-flung barangays.
