Technology
implemented for medical delivery systems in the Philippines is something that
could greatly benefit the country, and it’s developing health care system. The
Philippines is a country that as mentioned previously is a highly divided
nation in terms of geography, with the country being split into multiple
islands. According to the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA)
the Philippines is comprised of 7641 different islands (Lim, 2016). This means
that the distribution of medical supplies to different islands is quite
difficult due to the countries lack of connecting roads, and bridges between
these islands. With the implementation of a drone system such as the one
developed by Zipline to service the country of Rwanda, there would be an
increased ease in the distribution of medical supplies to the countries smaller
islands.
Another issue in the Philippines
that supports the implementation of a medical supply system that is delivered
by drones, is that the country is currently lacking in its number of
physicians. The Philippines currently has 70,000 active physicians in the
country that service the country’s population of approximately 100 million
people (Folger, 2019). This means that the country has a physician to patient
ratio of around .7 physicians for every 1000 patients. Compared to other
Southeastern Asian countries this number is higher and is representative of the
overall infrastructural growth of the Philippines. Though when this is compared
to the United States which has a physician to patient ratio of 2.4 physicians
per 100 patients, it is evident that the country still has room for improving
it health care system (Folger, 2019). Due to this lack of physicians within the
country, an implementation of the Zipline drone system would mean that
physicians would not need to travel to see each patient individually, but
instead could send the necessary medical supplies where needed.
The Zipline company which started to
service the country of Rwanda in July of 2016, was allowed to provide its
service to the countries health care system with the backing of the Rwandan
government, which means that in order for this to be fully instituted in the Philippines
its services will need the governments support (Toor, 2016). This should not be
challenging though as the country does seems to be trying to grow its health
care system into one that mirrors a more developed country. This can be seen
through the county’s implementation of free healthcare for any citizen of the Philippines
which is provided by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, along with a
push towards more public hospitals with a current public hospital percentage of
approximately 40% (2017).
References
Folger,
J. (2019). Can You Trust the Philippines Healthcare System?. In
Investopedia.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019, from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/111015/can-you-trust-philippines-healthcare-system.asp
Lim,
R. (2016). How Many Islands Are There In The Philippines? It’s Not 7,107!. In
explore by Traveloka. Retrieved September 25, 2019, from https://explore.traveloka.com/features/new-islands-philippines
Toor,
A. (2016). This startup is using drones to deliver medicine in Rwanda. In
Verge.com. Retrieved September 26, 2019, from https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/5/11367274/zipline-drone-delivery-rwanda-medicine-blood
(2017).
Healthcare in the Philippines: A guide to the Filipino healthcare system. In
transferwise.com, Retrieved September 26, 2019, From https://transferwise.com/gb/blog/healthcare-system-in-the-philippines
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