Shedding light on the idea of creating a sustainable 'health system' in Thailand where everyone can 'access to treatment' from a global perspective of the private sector

 “Health” is a fundamental human factor, but “access to the health system” is not a fundamental factor that everyone receives equally and equally. Especially when the important base of the equation still has the word “cost” located as a barrier that prevents people from being able to access this necessity differently.

 

For Thai people, of course, over the past 20 years, we have had the National Health Security System (gold card) as an important supporting mechanism. that support almost the entire population to have access to the health system without having to bear the burden of expenses as an obstacle

 

If it cannot be denied that under certain gaps Including images of situations with new challenging factors. come in continuously As a result, there are some people who may escape. Get out of the shadows of these health coverages.

 

Asked how we can successfully create a health system with sustainable access to healthcare, “The Coverage” took the opportunity to hear from private sector representative Dr. Joseph Saba . CEO and co-founder of Axios International One of the companies that has been working in healthcare access for over 25 years, working in over 100 countries across Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

 

As a physician specializing in communicable diseases Health Management and Statistics which plays an important role in the healthcare industry drive access to medicines It also participates in world-class health development and research projects. Whether it is the United Nations Joint AIDS Program (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO), or even the condom program for women in Thailand. In all his experiences, he was able to reflect on these perspectives very well.

 

He began to project the big picture of the health situation. From the proportion of the world's population growing into “aging society” rapidly resulting in the prevalence of “Chronic illnesses” are on the rise, and many hospitals are unable to cope with the increase.

 

not only that Because in the past, the world has still faced a crisis of increasing health threats from "COVID-19", which creates a burden that is too heavy for medical facilities to bear. While the patients themselves are unable to access the medical system as usual.

 

In the midst of the disruption of business operations and daily life, Dr. Joseph stated that this epidemic It is considered an important impetus in the medical and public health circles. to develop quickly and urgently When most people see the need for more efficient access to healthcare. Especially in crisis situations that may occur unexpectedly.

 

Dr. Joseph pointed out that this is the main reason for us to work together to create " sustainable access to healthcare " , which is based on 3 key principles: 1. Flexible healthcare system 2. Medical costs and 3. An effective communication and management system.

 

A ' flexible ' healthcare system

In the first point, Dr. Joseph gives an example of restructuring the treatment to be more flexible to the situation. which is an image that we may have seen sometime during COVID-19, such as using technology as a helper to limit the number of patients in the hospital

 

These examples are either telemedicine visit (telemedicine), a system for prescribing medicines or consulting with pharmacists via online channels and delivery of medicines to the patient's doorstep to solve the problem of insufficient number of personnel and medical equipment and to reduce the risk of infection of patients

 

He further explained that Nowadays, our existing healthcare system is a “passive” system, or a system that waits for patients to come to the hospital, but if the “patient doesn't come,” then “nothing happens.” have shared "Treatment information" together, thus causing important information to be missed, such as drug allergies or ineffective treatment, etc.

 

especially patients with chronic diseases during COVID-19 who are a group of people at risk of contracting COVID-19 most severe therefore making it impossible to see a doctor as scheduled Although it is necessary to receive continuous treatment for the best treatment results.