HOW TO MAKE HOSPITAL REFORMS HAPPEN?

I have just come home from attending the 2021 International Hospital Federation World Congress (#IHF2021 #IHFBarcelona) in Barcelona, Spain. The sessions discussed about how every hospital on earth were affected by COVID-19 and had to cope and adapt with changes to respond to the deluge of patients who need critical care. The concept that nobody is safe until everyone is safe pushes forward intensive vaccination efforts and COVID-19 protocols to prevent transmission.

Other sessions tackled on hospital innovations like digital transformation for more efficient health systems especially with logistics, and knowledge transfers for public information dissemination to combat the infodemic; cultural sensitivity while implementing changes in the hospital with special mention of sufficient salaries for healthcare professionals; improved patient access thru teleconsultation; the concept of green hospitals for sustainable hospital environment, patient navigation systems and health financing.

As we arrived back in the Philippines, we checked in to the hotels accredited by the Department of Health and the Bureau of Quarantine for our mandatory quarantine. We were fortunate to attend the Philippine Hospital Association Annual Convention (#PHA2021) remotely. Dr Iris Thiele Isip-Tan discussed about the infodemic and invited interested hospital staff to join the WHO program for infodemic managers. Speakers shared about services offered such as hospitals in the home, programs for healthcare worker retention, collaborations with media partners to organize webicons, ease of doing business and health financing.

This was topic for #HealthXPH tweetchat November 20, 2021 (Saturday) about the current condition of our hospitals and health care systems and much needed hospital reforms.  Let us peek into some of those tweets:

T1. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a lot of weakness in our current hospital systems. Which one do you think needs to be addressed most urgently?

T2. Learning to live in the new normal after COVID-19 pandemic, what hospital reform do you think will improve access to healthcare?

T3. How do we make these hospital reforms happen?

In closing, hospitals were war zones for COVID-19 and this is the time to reform and rehabilitate our hospitals to make them environmentally sustainable, efficient, collaborative, coordinative and integrated with external health systems with digital transformation of all processes, including communication with patient clients.

Looking up the SYMPLUR analytics for this tweetchat:

The Journey to Barcelona: Breaking COVID-19

 Everything seemed too real to be true, but it was.

There were so many obstacles that we needed to get through before we finally boarded our flight.  Scrounging for resources, applying for our leaves, we made this trip happen - to give justice to representing our institution and our country.  This mission may as well have been a mission impossible.  But now, it is a reality.

Our RTPCR SARSCoV2 results turned in negative, we were on our way.  

We had to pack our gala uniform and our Filipiniana costume.  Pierre helped me shop for my official grey suit gala uniform at a nearby shopping mall.  My mom handmade my beautiful black Filipiniana with glitter lace fabric.  I can't wait to wear it during this 44th International Hospital Federation World Congress with pride.  So many people gave me "pabaon" and I am

For many, this trip felt like breaking free from the oppression of COVID-19 and learning to live in the new normal.  For the past year, we basically stayed where we were:  at home, at work, with limited mobility.  With strict border controls, people flocked to nearby beaches and open air amusement areas, outdoor cafes for face to face interaction.  We could hardly go to another part of the country without testing and facing the great inquisition, for fear of mandatory quarantine, much less travel to another country.  Indeed, when we posted photos on facebook about our trip to Barcelona, Spain, a number of my friends called me to ask about my experience.  I will post all that on facebook for public information dissemination, but this blog is for my insights.

The last time I went on an international flight, it was in 2016 for the Arthur Ashe endowment fellowship to New York Presbyterian Hospital with Weill-Cornell to observe how HIV/AIDS care is done in the US.  Many wonderful ideas on how we could improve our patient retention and level of satisfaction.  One of the things I didn't like was the cold.  When I arrived back in the Philippines, I clapped my hands for the deliciously warm weather!

This time around, I am more prepared with the winter clothes to keep me warm:  bubble coat, trench coat, bonnet, scarves and mittens/gloves.  Somehow, I also prepared myself for the mental and social cold of another culture, not like the uber friendly Filipino environment.  There is also the language barrier - many people probably would say "no habla Ingles" same way that I would respond "no comprendar Espanyol"

When the immigration staff interviewed me, she congratulated our team for being finalist for the award by the IHF World Congress.  This is super good vibes for the frontliners of Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, as we were the recipient of the IHF Award for Beyond the Call of Duty for COVID-19 Response.  This year, the award is for hospital management, and VSMMC is a finalist of the highest award, the Dr Kwang Tai Kim Grand Hospital Award.  It calls for a celebration and this special trip to Barcelona, Spain!