Blog 4 - " Law, Tech, and Health in Balance "

 

What is the importance of ensuring Laws are in place to make sure that the client will receive optimum care in this technology-led world?

        Laws are implemented by a regulating body, which is usually the government of each country, to protect the rights and safety of its subjects, including the citizens, businesses, and the country itself. They also ensure that nobody will abuse their powers by levying sanctions and penalties on the violators of the law. Which is why it is reasonable to presume that laws are what induce relative peace in our society.

    According to the World Health Organization (n.d.), governments use health laws for various reasons, which will be discussed in the following paragraphs. The first reason is to establish and implement health policies. Health policies take into consideration the concept of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), wherein all people—regardless of age, gender, and race—shall have access to quality health services whenever and wherever they need them, without financial hardships. This is the guiding principle in the creation of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in 1995 as the organization strives to provide accessible, affordable, and acceptable healthcare services to Filipinos (Obermann et al., 2018).

    The second is to design an appropriate healthcare system architecture and to define roles, responsibilities, and accountability. Health system architecture has drastically changed due to innovation. Various modern technologies can now be used to aid professionals in treating patients. And the performance of duties and adherence to mandates of healthcare professionals are what make sure that the health system is functioning. Therefore, accountability by the government, healthcare facilities and its employees is critical in maintaining optimum care for patients.

   Third, manage and respond to risks endangering personal and national health security. As we experienced in prior years, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the creation and implementation of multiple laws to protect the health security of the people as well as to alleviate its effects.

    The fourth one is applying international health agreements. Since the pandemic is a global health crisis, several countries created and supplied COVID-19 vaccines to nations worldwide. This could be an example of an international health agreement as it benefits all the parties involved and improves global health status.

    

    Lastly, establish appropriate and fair rules that will guide the operations in the health market, as well as set norms for responsible health behavior. Health laws are not limited to the responsibilities of the government and healthcare professionals in maintaining the health security of the people. It is also applicable to organizations such as hospitals and other health facilities. That is, they are also governed by laws to ensure that they do not engage in unethical or illegal activities that prevent them from providing the best possible care to patients.

    All of these lay solid foundations for good governance, allowing for meaningful participation by all stakeholders while protecting our rights and defining responsibilities.

References:

    Obermann, K., Jowett, M., & Kwon, S. (2018). The role of national health insurance for achieving UHC in the Philippines: a mixed methods analysis. Global Health Action, 11(1), 1483638. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2018.1483638 

    World Health Organization (n.d.). Health Law. 

https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-law#tab=tab_2