HEALTH Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial on Wednesday said she will ask state universities and colleges in the country that offer medical-related courses to do a mandatory return service for their graduates to address the challenge of producing an adequate number of health professionals in the country.
Ubial said that such is needed to be able to increase the number of physicians and other health professionals in rural areas. She said the same is being implemented in Cuba, which she visited last month, together with other health officials. Cuba has a health-care system that is recognized worldwide for its efficiency.
“In Cuba graduates of medical-related courses have a three-year mandatory government service and then, after three years, they can have the option of going into specialization. We don’t have that in the Philippines,” Ubial said.
She stressed that at present, the country has only five state-owned colleges of medicine.
She cited that through the program, the Cuban government was able to address the lack of physicians and other medical personnel, such that the country was even able to top the standard of the World Health Organization (WHO) not only in providing quality medical care, but also in the number of physicians relative to the population.
“In Cuba there is one doctor for every 1,075 patients. In our country, it is one physician for every 33,000 patients, while the international standard set by the WHO is one doctor for every 20,000 patients,” the official said.
But the DOH chief admitted that copying the Cuban medical-care system would take some investment, adding that, at present, only 6 percent of the national budget is allocated to health, compared to 26 percent for Cuba.
The Health department has a proposed budget of P144 billion in 2017, upped from the P122.63 billion this year.
Likewise, she said incentives should also be provided to graduates of medical-related courses for them to enter government service.
“In Cuba the education for medical courses is free and though doctors only received salaries of about $60 per month, they are provided free housing, the food is subsidized and the education of their children is free,” Ubial added.