Health & Life Sciences Update | October 26, 2018 Authors: Shay Wester, Hai Pham, Lucius Lee and Tra Nguyen |
LOOKING AHEAD |
US-ABC Membership Survey Health & Life Sciences Committee Quarterly Call |
THE COUNCIL'S TAKE |
Thailand Cabinet to Discuss Establishing National Health Policy Commission
The Thailand Ministry of Public Health recently sought the Cabinet’s approval on a bill to establish a national health policy commission led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha despite doubts about its usefulness and possible negative impact. If established, the commission would be granted full power to enact and govern public health policies, a function currently managed by the existing National Health Commission also led by the Prime Minister. The commission would be authorized to scrutinize key health policies including those concerning personnel and budget management before submitting them to the Cabinet. Earlier this month, the Cabinet met to discuss the bill but did not disclosed details of those discussions. The establishment of a national health policy commission would restructure the public health system and implicate many institutions and government functions. The proposed commission would comprise 45 experts and representatives from private and public sectors. The relatively high number of members is to ensure that the commission’s composition reflects a variety of interests. However, various state agencies have voiced concerns over the makeup and power of the commission. Furthermore, the Council of State is wary of the commission’s potential power to affect budgetary plans and affecting public health. The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is also worried the commission may have the power to intervene with its responsibilities and amend environmental protection laws when considering existing public health policies. The Secretariat of the Cabinet has questioned whether such a commission duplicates the functions of the existing National Health Commission. Philippines is the First Country in Southeast Asia to Fully Digitize all Patient Drug Data Prior to this law, pharmacists were required by the 1969 Philippine Pharmacy Act to maintain paper logbooks for recording prescription information. As part of the government’s efforts to modernize the public sector, the Food and Drug Administration signed a circular on June 27, 2018 announcing that paper prescription logbooks will be replaced by a new mobile app called the electronic Drug Safety System (eDSS) developed by mClinica. Pharmacists photograph prescriptions using the eDSS app, which uses artificial intelligence to digitize the prescription and send the data to a cloud database. This significantly reduces the amount of time needed for pharmacists to comply with regulations. More importantly, the data generated from these prescriptions will help health agencies gain more insights into specific medicine use so they can quickly fight and contain outbreaks, and understand patterns of treatment for diseases like diabetes or tuberculosis. There are 15,000 registered pharmacies serving 105 million people in the Philippines. The amount of data generated will help the government establish better public health programs and policies. The data will also help the government track medicine stockpiles and allocate resources, which is extremely valuable in disaster and emergency situations. The new law will be implemented in stages, starting with Manila, Cebu and Davao in 2018 and expanding to all cities nationwide by 2020. Rural areas with limited internet access may file for an exemption from the law. The Philippines is the first country in Southeast Asia to fully digitize all patient drug data, but Vietnam, which recently piloted a project to digitize citizens’ medical records, is not far behind - the project’s tremendous success led the Vietnamese government to plan on implementing the program nationwide next year. |
ADVOCACY UPDATE |
Thailand's Innovation List The Council has collected feedback and recommendations from members on how Thailand’s Innovation List affects U.S. healthcare companies. Introduced in 2015, the Innovation List includes products deemed to have been developed or improved through research and development by Thai majority-owned companies. Companies with healthcare products on the Innovation List are granted special government procurement privileges. For example, Thai public hospitals are mandated to spend at least 30 percent of their budget on Innovation List products without undergoing a public procurement process. Members’ input will be used to update the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and other stakeholders, and in our engagements with the Thai Government. If you have any questions, please contact Lucius Lee at llee@usasean.org. |
IN THIS UPDATE |
ARTICLE CLIPS |
Regional Affairs
Mitsui expands health care business in Asia Nikkei Asia Review 15th Oct 2018 Obesity rates in Brunei highest in region Borneo Bulletin Online 17th Oct 2018 Malaria’s ticking time bomb Nature.com 10th Oct 2018 Stigma, discrimination hamper leprosy eradication The Jakarta Post 20th Oct 2018 FAO calls for urgent action to fight hunger, malnutrition in Indonesia The Jakatar Post 19th Oct 2018 Pharma companies still dependent on imported APIs, says ministry The Jakarta Post 18th Oct 2018 Jakarta to get $1.4b from World Bank for disaster readiness, relief The Straits Times 15th Oct 2018 Laos, EU, UNICEF to bolster information on nutrition Vientiane Times 8th Oct 2018 Lao-Thai cooperation targeting better treatment for gastrointestinal patients The Nation 8th Oct 2018 Digital healthcare service seen positive for sector The Edge Markets 9th Oct 2018 Ministry denies claims of drug supplies monopoly and graft The Star Online 21st Oct 2018 Tackling anxiety and depression The Star Online 20th Oct 2018 WHO and Unicef ask govt to impose sugary drinks tax The Star Online 18th Oct 2018 World Bank: Malaysia doing well, but can do better in terms of children's health The Star Online 11th Oct 2018 Nets, darts and vaccines mobilised to fight rabies Frontier Myanmar 17th Oct 2018 Govt to Supply Rural Communities With Antivenom to Reach Farmers The Irrawaddy 16th Oct 2018 59% of deaths in Myanmar related to smoking, tobacco consumption Eleven Myanmar 11th Oct 2018 Depression sufferers lack safety net Frontier Myanmar 10th Oct 2018 Online community offers mental health support Manila Standard 15th Oct 2018 Manila hospital invests in premium mammography technology Manila Standard 8th Oct 2018 Using tech to bring transparency to Philippines’ pharmacies Techwire Asia 19th Oct 2018 PH total fertility rate highest in Asean – UN The Manila Times 18th Oct 2018 UHC bill to lower price of medicines Manila Standard 14th Oct 2018 Press Release - PRIB: Senate approves Universal Health Care bill Philippine Senate 11th Oct 2018 Sin tax hike may fund universal healthcare law BusinessWorld 11th Oct 2018 Senate passes Universal Health Care Bill CNN 10th Oct 2018 Singaporeans' average life expectancy to reach 85.4 years in 2040, third-highest in the world: Study The Straits Times 17th Oct 2018 Boosting immune system to fight malaria The Straits Times 11th Oct 2018 MOH suspends 10 clinics from Chas scheme for severe non-compliance; case referred to police The Straits Times 8th Oct 2018 Health Ministry to strengthen support for caregivers to the elderly Channel News Asia 23rd Oct 2018 KKH apologises for dispensing expired nose drops to baby, engages independent review panel The Straits Times 10th Oct 2018 More people seeking help for mental health conditions, community group says The Straits Times 9th Oct 2018 New law offers unprecedented medical benefits for workers The Nation 14th Oct 2018 Researchers raise hopes for 'affordable' anti-cancer drug Bangkok Post 20th Oct 2018 ‘Vaccine denial’ behind measles deaths in south Thailand The Star Online 19th Oct 2018 Latest tax break covers B60k of prenatal care, childbirth costs Bangkok Post 17th Oct 2018 Health policy panel looks like one too many Bangkok Post 10th Oct 2018 Traditional medicine staff slam inequality Bangkok Post 9th Oct 2018 Medics on the frontline Bangkok Post 7th Oct 2018 Vĩnh Long Province gets hi-tech hospital Vietnam News 22nd Oct 2018 Việt Nam faces double health burden: malnutrition and obesity Vietnam Net 19th Oct 2018 Vietnam to invest over $240 million in three 1,000-bed hospitals Sai Gon Giai Phong News 15th Oct 2018 Health ministry kicks off campaign to prevent measles, HFM outbreak Vietnam Net Bridge 14th Oct 2018 Immunotherapy for cancer patients piloted in Vietnam Vietnam Net Bridge 12th Oct 2018 Government spells out ambitious plan to develop grassroots healthcare Vietnam Net Bridge 11th Oct 2018 People in Hanoi get free HBV tests Vietnam Net Bridge 11th Oct 2018 Tay Ninh: New hospital to boost poor people’ access to quality health care Sai Gon Giai Phong News 11th Oct 2018 Street food sellers to be fined million dong for falling foul of regulation Sai Gon Giai Phong News 9th Oct 2018 Experts concern over virus Enterovirus 71 Vietnam Net Bridge 7th Oct 2018 New facilities to be built at regional general hospitals in HCM City Vietnam News 16th Oct 2018 Việt Nam, Japan cooperate in high-quality health services Vietnam News 15th Oct 2018 Flexibility needed for hospital autonomy: Deputy PM Vietnam News 13th Oct 2018 Chợ Rẫy Phnom Penh Hospital: a symbol of friendship between Việt Nam and Cambodia Vietnam News 8th Oct 2018 |