No abstract available.
Aviation* ; Emergencies* ; Medical Assistance*

The purposes of this study were 1) to review the Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) Act of the United States, 2) to introduce the efforts of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) to expand the Medicare coverage for MNT and 3) to provide information about the reimbursement under Medicare Part B for the cost of MNT. The MNT Act defined MNT services as "the nutritional diagnostic, therapeutic, and counseling services provided by a Registered Dietitian or nutritional professional for the purpose of managing diabetes or renal diseases". Also, the MNT Act defined "conditions for coverage of MNT", "limitations on coverage of MNT", and "qualifications of MNT service provider". To expand the coverage of Medicare to include MNT, the ADA realized the need for development of a protocol for MNT, as well as studies to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the MNT protocol developed. Therfore, the ADA supported the studies to develop a strong database of scientific investigations of nutritional services. Furthermore, the ADA needed credible data that could be used by policy makers, so the ADA contracted with the Lewin Group to carry out the study to gather the additional data needed to strengthen the ADA's position. In the report of the Lewin Group, which was entitled, "The Cost of Covering Medical Nutrition Therapy under Medicare: 1998 through 2004", it was concluded, that if coverage for MNT in the Part B portion of Medicare had begun in 1998, by 2004, approximately $ 2.3 billion would have been saved through reduced hospital spending under Part A of Medicare ($ 1.2 billion) and reduced physician visits under Part B ($ 1.1 billion). Effective January 1 2002, the US Congress extended Medicare coverage to include MNT to beneficiaries with diabetes or renal diseases. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established the duration and frequency for the MNT based on published reports or generally accepted protocols (for example, protocols suggested by the ADA). The number of hours covered by Medicare is 3 hours for the initial MNT and 2 hours for a follow-up MNT. In 2002, a Medicare coverage policy was made to define the Physician's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes 97802, 97803, and 97804 for MNT.
Administrative Personnel ; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (U.S.) ; Counseling ; Current Procedural Terminology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Medicare Part B ; Medicare* ; Nutrition Therapy* ; Nutritionists ; United States

Objective: The objectives of this paper were to describe and analyze the utilization of the Department of Health-Medical Assistance Program (DOH-MAP) at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) in order to provide actual data on its implementation and to give recommendations on future enforcement. Methods: Clinical and fiscal records of DOH-MAP recipients were prospectively tracked and analyzed from January to June 2018. Results: A total of Php 20,875,291.98 was utilized in the program from January to June 2018. The departments of Medicine (29.68%), Surgery (26.25%), and Neurosciences (15.99%) were identified as the clinical departments with the highest allocation of assistance fund. The pharmacy (64.28%), laboratory (12.87%), and outsourced medical equipment and services from EQUILIFE (10.26%) were determined to be the cost centers with the highest allotment. Conclusion The clinical departments and cost centers with high funding utilization identified in this study are recommended to be given appropriate increase in budget allocation, equipment procurement, maintenance and enhancement, and service improvement in order to provide a comprehensive health service delivery for patients of UP-PGH.
Health Expenditures ; Healthcare Financing ; Medical Assistance

PURPOSE: On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan attacked the Philippines, causing damage to many houses and trees as well as loss of many lives. A medical team from our hospital and university was sent to Philippines in order to provide medical assistance. We wish to describe our experiences of disaster medicine and discuss problems and improvement points. METHODS: We analyzed the characteristics of patients who received medical treatment administered by us at Tagobon city in the Philippines for five days. RESULTS: We provided medical services to 951 patients for five days. Most patients visited us for medical treatment not trauma. Almost all chief complaints were associated with respiratory, gastrointestinal, dermatologic, and ophthalmologic symptoms. We mainly treated the patients with medications. CONCLUSION: During the subacute period after the disaster, most patients complained of medical and dermatologic problems due to lack of sanitation rather than traumatic complications. Medical assistance for disaster should be administered appropriately according to the types of diseases that occurduring each period after disaster.
Cyclonic Storms* ; Disaster Medicine ; Disasters* ; Humans ; Medical Assistance* ; Philippines* ; Sanitation

A modern Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) is a group of professional and para-professional medical personnel organized to provide rapid-response medical care during a disaster situation. DMAT is a part of the disaster response system that acts as a trained, mobile, self-contained medical team in the acute phase of a disaster to provide necessary services such as triage, treatment, and transportation of injured patients in the devastated disaster area. The timeliness of DMAT response is critical to the administration of medical care and reduction of immediate mortality in disaster. While the number of members in a DMAT may vary between different nations. A small-scale DMAT is often composed of five to six people and there is good reason to consider this an effective unit for early disaster medical responses. An adequate structure and training system should be provided for Korean DMAT development in the near future.
Disasters* ; Humans ; Mass Casualty Incidents ; Medical Assistance* ; Mortality ; Transportation ; Triage

Future major disasters require the development of socially transparent and rational-decision-making procedures. Recent reports indicate that the frequency of human disasters are decreasing while natural disasters and social disasters are becoming more frequent. The creation of a disaster communication network, which is essential in protecting the life and property as well as providing a sense of societal security. Standards for a modern disaster communication network must be developed at the national level, with national state support for a 3rd generation partnership project such as a Public Safety-LTE that allows the construction of an effective national disaster network plan. Compliance and certification standards to ensure interoperability of communications and other equipment are necessary for the creation of a modern national disaster network that allows more efficient management of disaster situations. It can be expected that our efforts and example can help other countries to build a standard protocol for managing the national disasters.
Certification ; Compliance ; Disaster Planning ; Disasters* ; Humans ; Medical Assistance* ; Telecommunications ; Telemedicine

Korea has advanced nuclear and radioisotope industry, and it is urgent to establish a national system to countermeasure the radiation accidents and preparedness for radiation emergency medical management. The Government opened the National Radiation Emergency Medical Center (NREMC) in the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (KIRAMS) in 2002, and the NREMC is setting up a radiation emergency medical preparedness and assistance network in nationwide. On April 30, 2003 the special law was proposed for the physical protection of nuclear facilities and emergency response against radiological accidents, which includes medical preparedness and management. Detailed guidelines for this law is being prepared by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), and will be take effect in February 2004. Per this guideline, regional emergency medical centers will be appointed by the MOST, and the NREMC will operate this national system including education of the medical personnel.
Education ; Emergencies* ; Jurisprudence ; Korea ; Medical Assistance* ; Radioactive Hazard Release

Anemia, Aplastic ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Medical Assistance ; ethics ; organization & administration

Medical assistance programs are government-funded programs that provide financial assistance to low-income individuals and families. These programs aim to reduce financial burdens and improve health care access. Coverage may include outpatient visits, hospital care, mental health services, diagnostic work-ups, prescriptions, and other services. This increases the detection of health conditions and improves drug utilization.1 2 3 Even though government health schemes and compulsory contributory health care financing schemes (e.g., PhilHealth) accounted for the majority of health expenditures in the Philippines, household out-of-pocket (OOP) payment still remains high. In 2022, the country’s total health expenditure (THE) was Php 1.12 trillion, with government health schemes and compulsory contributory health care financing schemes accounting for 44.8% of the THE and household OOP payment accounting for 44.7%. Thus, every Filipino spent an average amount of Php 10,059.49 for health care goods and services in 2022
Medical Assistance ; Health Services Accessibility ; Mental Health Services

BACKGROUND: In 2016, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) introduced the Z-package to provide financial coverage for, among others, intramedullary nailing procedures and implant costs for eligible patients with femoral shaft fractures. OBJECTIVE: To compare health care durations and expenses between patients with closed femoral shaft fractures requiring intramedullary fixation who utilized the PhilHealth Z-package and those who did not. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: 66 male and female patients, aged 19 to 39 years, who underwent intramedullary nailing for closed femoral shaft fractures. SETTING: Orthopedic Ward, Southern Philippines Medical Center, Davao City, January to December 2018. MAIN OUTCOME PROCEDURE: Time to surgery, length of hospital stay, total hospital bill, total PhilHealth coverage, other funds for medical assistance (OFMA) coverage, and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses. MAIN RESULTS: Among the 66 patients, 33 had the Z-package, while the remaining 33 did not. The median time to surgery (19 days vs 24 days; p=0.156), median length of hospital stay (24 days vs 29 days; p=0.546), and median total hospital bill (Php 62,392.00 vs Php 62,404.80; p=0.314) were comparable between those without the Z-package and those who had, respectively. However, patients without the Z-package had significantly lower total PhilHealth coverage (Php 30,740.00 vs Php 48,740.00; p<0.001) and higher OFMA coverage (Php 49,909.90 vs Php 34,409.20; p=0.024), and OOP expenses (Php 0.00; IQR: Php 0.00 to Php 20,000.00 vs Php 0.00; IQR: Php 0.00 to Php 0.00; p=0.004) compared to those with the Z-package. CONCLUSION Patients with the Z-package had a slightly longer time to surgery, although this difference was not statistically significant. However, they benefited from significantly lower remaining bills after PhilHealth coverage and reduced OOP expenses compared to patients without Z-package coverage.
PhilHealth coverage ; out-of-pocket expenses ; medical assistance ; length of stay