News
RP Hosts International Meet on Quality Assurance in Health Care - October 22, 2007
The Philippines is hosting the Conference on Quality in Health Care in Low-and Middle-Income Countries from October 24 to 26, 2007 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati City.
The event is jointly organized by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Department of Health, World Health Organization (WHO), German Agency for Technical Cooperation or GTZ and the Philippine Society for Quality in Health Care (PSQua).
With its theme, "Bridging the Gaps - Assessing, Monitoring and Improving Quality," the conference aims to foster better understanding of appropriate and applicable ways of assessing, monitoring and improving quality in health care in the context of resource-poor health systems. It also aims to improve the participants' understanding of internationally-accepted definitions of quality and key concepts of assuring and improving quality in health care systems and services.
Some 70 participants from such countries as South Africa, Cameroon, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Tanzania and Morroco are expected to attend the conference which is the first international conference on quality assurance that the Department of Health, PhilHealth, WHO, GTZ and PSQua are jointly hosting. Around 110 local delegates representing various health care institutions will also be attending the meet, which will bring together health policymakers, healthcare professionals and providers, independent total quality practitioners, decision-makers in healthcare organizations, and hospital administrators.
Health Secretary Dr. Francisco T. Duque III and Acting PhilHealth President and CEO Lorna O. Fajardo, will deliver the Opening and Welcome Remarks, respectively. Former Health Secretaries Dr. Manuel M. Dayrit and Dr. Alberto G. Romualdez will also grace the event.
Speakers include Dr. Charles Shaw of the World Health Organization, who will tackle what quality in health care means. Prof. Stuart Whittaker of COHSASA - South Africa will discuss Safety-Global Overview of Experiences while Dr. John Peabody of the Institute of Global Health, USA will touch on the Tools in Measuring Quality in Health Care. GTZ Health Program Manager Dr. Michael Adelhardt will share his ideas on Quality in Health Care - Strategic Choices; and Dayrit will provide insights on Human Resources in Health.
The three-day affair will also showcase country experiences from Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Pakistan.