Background: A primary care-based health care system has the potential to make the health system more efficient. The high hospitalization rate for diseases that can be treated in an outpatient setting in areas where there is low access to primary care physicians leads to higher cost of care. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the primary care orientation of the different family and community medicine training programs in Manila. Methods: This was a self-administered questionnaire survey using the primary care assessment tool provider survey (PCAT-PS) conducted on resident physicians undergoing training in family medicine in the different hospitals in Manila. Based on the PCAT scoring, we used a cut-off score of 3.5 as the desirable level of orientation. Results: A total of 24 residents from 8 hospitals responded to the questionnaire. A significant percentage of patients are being seen in their clinic over a period of 1-4 years. Majority of the patients they see are those aged 20 years old or more. Of all the 9 domains, the programs had very good scores in coordination of care, information system, family-centeredness and cultural competence. However, improvement is needed for services that are available, services being provided, ongoing care and community orientation. In terms of the overall primary care score for the core indicators, the training programs in family medicine did not reach the target mean score of 3.5. However, when the other domains were added the overall mean primary care score with the expanded domains had a mean of 3.55. This suggests that the current training programs in the Manila are strong in their family-centeredness and their cultural competence. Conclusion: In conclusion, our training programs may be improved to be more primary care oriented. We need to be patient-centered by asking our patients and determine what health service they need and want. Then we need to train our residents in providing these services, with greater exposure to outpatient rotations and community clinics.
PRIMARY CARE

No Abstract Available.
Humans ; Physicians, Primary Care* ; Primary Health Care*

No abstract available.
Humans ; Physicians, Primary Care* ; Primary Health Care*

BACKGROUND

Appropriate use of medication is an important indicator of quality healthcare delivery among children. Previously published studies on drug utilization involved Filipino households in general and were conducted in the 1990s. No recent Philippine studies have been conducted that focus on drug utilization in children.

To describe the current prescribing patterns in one primary care service in a rural site in the Philippines using the World Health Organization (WHO) prescribing indicators.

A cross-sectional study was conducted by review of electronic medical records of patients seen at the primary care facility under the Philippine Primary Care Studies (PPCS) rural site from April 2019 to March 2020. Out of 9,930 total encounters, 623 patient encounters with prescriptions for pediatric patients were included in the study through systematic sampling. The average number of drugs per encounter, percentage of drugs prescribed by their generic names, percentage of encounters with prescribed antibiotics, percentage of encounters with prescribed injections, and percentage of drugs prescribed from the Philippine Drug Formulary were calculated. Values were compared to the cut-offs considered “good practice” for outpatient care in the WHO manual: (1) an average number of less than two drugs per encounter; (2) less than 30% of encounters are prescribed with antibiotics; (3) less than 20% of encounters are prescribed with injections; (4) 100% of drugs are prescribed by generic name; and (5) 100% of drugs are from the formulary.

On the average, three drugs were prescribed per encounter. Most patient encounters (80.9%) involved antibiotics prescription — higher than the WHO standard value of 30%. All drugs were prescribed by generic name and were prescribed from the formulary. Only 0.5% of encounters were prescribed injections, all of which were administered through the intramuscular route. Of the 1,962 prescriptions generated, antibiotics was the most prescribed medication (25.7%). The most common diagnosis was infectious in nature (88.8%).

The primary care service achieved the WHO standard values in terms of prescribing by injections and by generic names. There was a high rate of antibiotic prescriptions at 83%, and a high average number of drugs prescribed per encounter, exceeding the WHO standard value.

Background: Palliative care is an approach which improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing life-threatening illness, through the prevention, assessment and treatment of pain and other physical, psychosocial and spiritual problems. The Palliative and Hospice Care Act was enacted to improve quality of life of terminally- ill patient, however, the readiness of general practitioner to participate in palliative care is still a critical issues. Objectives: This study aimed to identify factors affecting provision of palliative care, as perceived by primary care physicians in Ilocos Norte. Methods: The study is a descriptive-comparative research utilizing the purposive sampling technique in selecting the participants. It used a structured survey questionnaire in google form and was sent through email. For participants having difficulty with online platform, printed questionnaire was distributed. Data gathered was entered and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Specifically, mean, standard deviation was used for descriptive statistics and spearman correlation for inferential statistics was utilized. Results As to the knowledge of the primary care physicians, this study showed that they are knowledgeable as to the definition and objectives of palliative care. The study able to assess factors affecting the provision of palliative care in five (5) domains. Among the domains it was noted that national, regional and local healthcare networking and healthcare team are perceived challenges in provision of palliative care among the primary care physicians of Ilocos Norte.
Palliative Care ; Physicians, Primary Care

No abstract available.
Primary Health Care*

No Abstract Available.
Depression* ; Primary Health Care*

No Abstract Available.
Primary Health Care*

No abstract available.
Geriatrics* ; Primary Health Care*

No abstract available.
Geriatrics* ; Primary Health Care*