Review of Philippine Health Laws and its Implication to HTA Institutionalization

Abstract

Abstract Objective To identify the implications of health legislations on the direction of health technology assessment (HTA) institutionalization in the Philippines. Methods We reviewed 15 health laws and extracted information using a preset data extraction tool. The collected data was then subjected to the KJ (Kawakita Jiro) method to group similar provisions, taking into account their respective implications to the HTA direction. Once grouped, a core concept was identified that captured the underlying provisions within the group. After which, the core concepts were tabulated and matched with the core components of HTA institutionalization to identify specific policy implication to HTA. Results Three major paradigms emerged that are considered important in the institutionalization of HTA. First, common among the health laws are the need for the provision or expansion of benefit packages through the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. Aside from the benefit packages, the reviewed laws also require delivery of new health services that entail the use of specific health technologies. Lastly, as a consequence of the need for new health services, equity concerns became evident in relation to the identified health services specifically in terms of socioeconomic divide, geographical location and disease status. Discussion and Conclusions The three paradigms identified from the review of health laws indicate synergism and antagonism to the HTA-related policy content of the Philippines' UHC Law. Some identify the need for HTA before being funded by the government while others do not explicitly state this. Despite the health laws requiring expansion or creation of benefit packages and delivery of new health services, there is still a need to undergo HTA in order to ensure efficient use of resources. The presence of these laws should not be tantamount to exception of undergoing HTA process but rather should be taken as a guide for priority-setting of topics for assessment. Key messages In the process of institutionalizing HTA, existing legislations on health can help map out areas of priority for assessment. Many health policies preceded the signing of the Universal Health Care Law, thus it is important to review them to determine provisions that are synergistic or antagonistic to the content of UHC Law.