Abstract
Breaking Barriers Amid the Pandemic: The Status of Telehealth in Southeast Asia and its Potential as a Mode of Healthcare Delivery in the Philippines
Highlights
Southeast Asia (SEA) is a geographical bloc that is sociologically, politically, and economically diverse
Many studies suggest that telehealth has improved healthcare provision during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommend it for public safety (Nguyen et al, 2008; Monaghesh and Hajizadeh, 2020; Somsiri et al, 2020; Bagayoko et al, 2014)
Several studies report that the quality of home online health consultation systems are interrupted by slow internet speeds that result in poor audio and video quality, connection loss, and patients displeasure (Bernocchi et al, 2016; Dimitropoulos et al, 2017; Eslami Jahromi and Ahmadian, 2018; Almathami et al, 2020)
Summary
Southeast Asia (SEA) is a geographical bloc that is sociologically, politically, and economically diverse. Health workers in SEA are primarily concentrated in urban areas because of greater prospects and pay in these places, leaving rural areas understaffed (Kanchanachitra et al, 2011; Nair and Webster, 2013) This compels rural folk to seek medical treatment in cities when medical specialists are not accessible in their locality. Projections predict a 1.2% annual growth per capita in health expenditures in Brunei, and 7.4% growth in Myanmar from 2014 to 2040 (Dieleman et al, 2017) This increase is mainly driven by population growth, indicating that healthcare services will grow in demand. Raghavan et al (2021) predicted that by 2050, the escalating population in Asia would increase the demand for healthcare facilities With this significant growth in the population, telehealth could become a viable solution for these problems in the future. Government agencies should implement necessary measures to fortify the telehealth industry and fill the overwhelming healthcare gap
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