Telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines

摘要

In a very timely Editorial published in this journal, Fisher and Magin rightfully concluded that during this COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has the potential to bridge healthcare inequity and increase access for vulnerable and disadvan-taged populations. At the same time, they also added that it has the potential to exacerbate existing inequity.1 With these interesting perspectives, I would like to validate and flesh these claims by pointing out both their advantages and disadvantages, especially in the Philippine primary care context. In the Philippine healthcare system, health outcomes are generally improving, but the stagnant maternal mortality ratio and neonatal mortality rate, and the sluggish rate of improvement in health outcomes compared to neighboring countries, are worrisome.