Med scholarship bill to fill doctor gap in far-flung areas

SEN. Edgardo Angara is pushing for the passage of a bill that seeks to establish a medical scholarship program to address the lack of available doctors to serve underprivileged Filipinos in farflung communities.

According to data from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine (UPCM), about 80 percent of its graduates leave the country to practice medicine abroad.

“The lack or the maldistribution of doctors and healthcare professionals in the country is very alarming. Most doctors and medical specialists are concentrated in urban centres and larger municipalities, leaving far-flung communities largely unserved,” Angara said.

At present, according to the Department of Health (DOH), there is one doctor for every 33,000 Fil- ipinos—a far cry from the World Health Organization standard which is one doctor for every 20,000 population.

Recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority also showed that three out of five Filipinos pass away without seeing a doctor, nurse or any other allied health professional.

Of the 946 slots this year for the Doctor to the Barrios program of the DOH, in which the government shoulders the pay of doctors deployed to poor and remote towns, the actual number of takers for these slots was only 373.

“The high cost of study of medicine prompts new doctors to join private hospitals which offer higher pay. More lucrative opportunities abroad also lead to an exodus of medical professionals,” Angara said.