Our Way Forward

The Health System Reboot

The Health System Reboot is a three-part series that situates our health system in the Covid-19 pandemic. Each episode presents components of the health system that are described and evaluated using the social determinants of the health framework. Representative human resources for health on the ground share the challenges that they face in this pandemic.

Norman Dennis E. Marquez, MD

Norman Dennis E. Marquez, MD serves as the University Physician of Ateneo de Manila University. He is a faculty and currently Associate Director of the Health Sciences Program under the School of Science and Engineering and coordinator for Learning Experiences in Communities (LEC) at the School of Medicine and Public Health.

The Health System Reboot is a three-part series that situates our health system in the Covid-19 pandemic. Each episode presents components of the health system that are described and evaluated using the social determinants of health framework. Representative human resources for health on the ground share the challenges that they face in this pandemic.

The first episode brings out issues on the disparity in the distribution of health care workers along with supplies and other resources between urban and rural areas, as well as in private and public health care facilities from the eyes of volunteers of Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB) program of the Department of Health.

The video features Dr. Jeth Cruz who is stationed in Busuanga, Palawan; Dr. Rap Abacan in T’boli, South Cotabato; Dr. Bel Santos in Sto. Nino, Samar; and Dr. Aimee Capinpuyan in Gigaquit, Surigao Del Norte. They share the difficulties faced in serving as one of the few doctors in rural areas during a pandemic. This discussion was filmed on May 2, 2020.

The second episode looks at the technology and possible regulation of personal protective equipment (PPE) given their demand during this crisis. Dr. Marquez speaks with Dr Jeremie De Guzman MD, Medical Engineering Designer; Dr Jose Mario Diaz PhD, Material Science Engineer; and Eloi-Francisco Rivera who is involved in manufacturing and marketing. The episode was recorded on May 12, 2020.

In their commitment to deliver better services, they offer insights on how we may navigate through the pandemic and beyond.

The third episode features Juan Miguel Cajucom, Patricia Denise Racela, Don Christian Cornel, and Ma. Isabelle Bunag of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health. They synthesize their experiences and learnings, and present the six building blocks of the health system into its wholeness, presenting health as a multidisciplinary and multisectoral endeavor.

The featured presentations leave the viewers with questions of responsibility and accountability: how to build an equitable, responsive, relevant, and sustainable health system.