Issue No. 67 - November to December 2011 - DOH

wrote in his column “Pinoy Kasi” in thePhilippine Daily Inquirer on September8, “The suicide rate in the Philippines isrelatively low compared to other countries’.This is explained by the fact that the countryhas a Catholic majority population. Althoughmost major religions look negatively atsuicide, the Catholic Church tends to be themost judgmental, with threats of eternaldamnation and some Catholic priestsrefusing a church burial.”But as to cases of depression, theWorld Health Organization, says otherwise.The Philippines has the highest incidence ofdepression in Southeast Asia. In 2004, therewere over 4.5 million cases of depressionreported in the country and 3 per centof Filipinos were clinically diagnosed asdepressed. However, of the 90 depressives,only 30 will seek help. The other 30 willsuffer the symptoms but will be ashamed toseek help because of the stigma associatedwith the illness. These symptomatics wouldrather keep it to themselves and suffer inpain and in silence. The other 30 will sufferthe symptoms not knowing what is wrongwith them.Knowing what depression is allabout is already a big step in managingthe illness. There is an urgent need toempower individuals suffering from theillness with resources, professional helpand organizational linkages that can opennew doors and bring light in their journeyof suffering and pain to that of positive selfdiscoveryand well-being. The families andfriends of people suffering from depressionare equally important and they need toknow and understand the illness to enablethem to respond and provide constructivesupport to their loved ones during thesedifficult times.On September 9, a day ahead ofthe World Suicide Prevention Day, the DOHjoined the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation- a non-government organization thatadvocates for better understanding ofdepression, in several activities targeting theyouth in leading schools and universities,particularly holding lectures and discussionson depression and suicide.6 PhilHealth Schemes and ThingsOne of the two health issues thatmade it to the second State of the NationAddress of President Benigno S. Aquino IIIon July 25 is the enrolment to PhilHealth’sThe Department of Health and PhilHealth advise all eligible Filipinos to enrol in the national socialhealth insurance program and use their benefits. (Photo from PhilHealth)insurance program of 5.3 million poorfamilies identified in the Department ofSocial Welfare and Development’s NationalHousing Targeting Survey for Poverty Reduction(NHTS-PR). (The other health issue isimmunization which the President utteredtwice in passing.) PhilHealth enrolmentand its consequent utilization of benefitsby indigent families are considered thecenterpiece of the Aquino Health Agenda’sKalusugan Pangkalahatan (universalhealth care) within three years. That’s byJune 2013 already, and time is ticking fast.Effective September 1, the DOHand PhilHealth implemented the case ratesscheme for in-patient treatment of 22common medical and surgical conditions.Simply put, Health Secretary Enrique T. Onasaid that this scheme is akin to a “pakyaw,”or wholesale system where all the fees arefixed, but for 22 most common cases onlyand not for all types of cases which willbe paid directly to both government andprivate hospitals and clinics.The case rates payment covers:dengue 1 (P8,000); dengue 2 (P16,000);pneumonia 1 (P15,000), pneumonia 238 HEALTHbeat I November - December 2011