WHO calls for overhaul of patient treatment in Asia

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a “major overhaul” of the way patients are being treated in health facilities in Asia where medical care has become “depersonalized and out of touch with the public’s rights and needs.”

According to Dr. Shigeru Omi, WHO regional director for Western Pacific, many people are still not satisfied with the quality of care that they get despite all the advances in medical science and technology in recent decades.

He said the way things are at present done does not respond to what the public wants.

“The need for a more balanced system is clear. What we have to do now is to take the action that will make that change happen. Health care continues to fall short of people’s expectations. There is growing concern about quality, access and responsiveness, as well as safety,” he noted.

Omi claimed that this is because, “the approach to healing has become too narrow, with the patient viewed as little more than a set of symptoms.”

“This fails to take into account the fact that the body and mind are linked and that psychosomatic and social factors also affect health,” he added.

The expert has underscored the need for a new approach where the many “hidden factors” associated with illness and hospitalization like loneliness, anxiety and cultural alienation, are also taken care of in a multi-disciplinary matter.

“Knowledge and technology are our great allies but we must use them judiciously and holistically, within a people-friendly system that view the public as full and equal partners in preventing disease and enhancing health and well-being,” he claimed.

Omi said that it could neither be quick nor easy to adopt a new approached but Asia is “ready for the challenge,” being the home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies.

“What we are proposing is relevant to all forms of health systems at all stages of their development,” he maintained.

The new approach also need not divert resources away from several health problems facing Asia.

“We are talking mainly about inexpensive, strategic adjustments in the work environment, plus some retraining of healthcare staff and auxiliaries. We will continue to tackle them with all our energy,” he added.