A few months ago, a senate inquiry was launched on an alleged breach of ethics involving a pharmaceutical firm that was allegedly offering lucrative incentives for doctors to prescribe its medicine, which could be unwittingly unnecessary or more expensive for patients. The company faced scrutiny as well after purported whistleblowers exposed a multi-level-marketing scheme it reportedly employed that also sought to recruit doctors.
Ultimately, the whole affair was inconclusive apart from entities lawyering up and taking legal action. It was, however, a stark reminder for all of us, not just for those in the healthcare sector, of how precious trust and ethics are.
Integrity and transparency form an important pillar in our shared pursuit of quality and affordable healthcare. The moment we allow these principles to take the backseat, then it's likely that the relationship itself between doctors and their patients will erode. How likely would you be following your physician's prescription if you were informed somewhere that they are also incentivized to favor a certain brand of medicine?
So it was indeed a timely development that the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) relaunched the I Stand for Integrity Campaign, together with its partners in the healthcare sector.
Public agencies and private organizations alike convened to affirm the sector's wide consensus with the campaign's objective: to focus on promoting the principles of integrity, transparency, independence, accountability, and, above all, patient focus.
The launch event also saw the various leaders and representatives of these groups and offices alongside PHAP personally express their commitment to the “I Stand for Integrity” campaign's principles, and yours truly had the opportunity to be the moderator between these inspiring and passionate figures as they addressed the audience and shared their insights on the healthcare sector.
PHAP’s milestones in instituting professionalism
PHAP President and Roche Philippines General Manager Dr. Diana Edralin welcomed the audience with a precise reminder of why integrity, ethics, and professionalism is crucial for the growth of our healthcare sector. “The ethical promotion of prescription medicines is vital to our industry’s mission of helping patients through research and development of new and innovative medicines,” she stated.
Additionally, according to Dr. Diana, abiding by these standards helps us “ensure that our doctors have access to the right information they need and that the right patients have access to the right medicines at the right time.”
Executive Director Teodoro Padilla in his remarks shared the significant milestones that the association has taken in the pursuit of upholding professional ethics and integrity.
Mr. Teodoro highlighted five of these initiatives. Firstly, the establishment of the PHAP Code of Practice in 1993, which now "have become bases for our policies that institute ethical conduct." Then, its collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sought to ensure the transparency and integrity of health professionals and PHAP members. The PHAP also established the Integrity and Proficiency Program for the Pharmaceutical Sector (IPPS) certification program, "a PHAP training tool for cascading proficiency and ethical practices." Since 2018, PHAP has also adopted the globally-developed “Consensus Framework for Ethical Collaboration Between Patients’ Organizations, Healthcare Professionals, and the Pharmaceutical Industry.” Lastly, Mr. Padilla shared the continuing development of the “Data Privacy Protection in the Pharma Industry” program, in partnership with the National Privacy Commission.
"With these five frameworks in place, we are confident that we can act with integrity in our interactions," said the PHAP executive director.
The renewed focus on upholding professional ethics and integrity has become even more significant today. With the rise of social media, we have all become painfully aware of the ill effects of misplaced cynicism and compromised trust that could be used to fuel disinformation and fake news.
But when that trust between health professionals and the people is protected and cherished, we are able to mobilize great public health initiatives. Dr. Diana reminisced about the sector’s experience during the pandemic, highlighting what we could achieve through our commitment “to educational efforts that benefit patients as well as programs and collaborations that enhance the practice of medicine.”
“We have seen this at a grand scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. We produced a vaccine in less than a year and delivered billions of doses in the next months. We also discovered test kits and medicines or repurposed them with the end goal of saving lives,” said the PHAP president.
Healthcare leaders find common goals in upholding ethics
Karen Villanueva, President of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO), shared how their coalition of "more than 50 disease-specific patient groups in the Philippines," were doing their part to help shape health policy. "We work with communities of patients to get our voices heard by all involved," said Ms. Karen. PAPO, according to her, sought to give patient advocates a voice "so we can sit at the table and help offer solutions that are anchored on patients' lived experience."
The Philippine Medical Association's president, Dr. Hector Santos, affirmed the importance of patient-centric innovation, that the association is committed "to integrity, ethical medical collaboration, and we uphold the highest standards of professionalism to deliver the best possible care for our patients."
Upholding these values also fosters "a culture of integrity, transparency, and ethical practice between medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies," according to Dr. Imelda Mateo, the president of the Philippine College of Physicians.
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Chairman Charito Zamora was also present -- together with representatives of the complete PRC's health cluster boards, impressively -- to affirm the agency's resolve to uphold professionalism and ethics. "The I Stand for Integrity campaign serves as a rallying cry for stakeholders both in the public and private sectors," Chairman Charito remarked. Earlier, Dr. Diana affirmed that “ethical interactions help ensure that medical decisions are made in the best interests of patients.”
The call for patient-centered care was reiterated by Ms. Carmen Auste, CEO of the Cancer Warriors Foundation, Inc. (CWFI). She asked health professionals to look beyond patients as a problem to solve but as people.
“We need to be able to understand their needs, their perspectives, not just from the diseases that they have, but from the life that they are living, from their dreams, their wishes, what it is that they are looking forward to,” she suggested.
Integrity is rooted in compassion
From the significant turnout of different groups that all came in support of PHAP's “I Stand for Integrity” campaign, it was hard to not feel hopeful that healthcare in the Philippines would only continue to improve. It was a testament as well to the inspiring leadership and motivating energies of Dr. Diana and Mr. Padilla to revitalize this campaign.
This alliance would also be manifested through the ceremonial commitment signing, witnessed by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), FDA, PAPO, CWFI, and PHAP members.
I share in the PHAP president’s gratitude for everyone who sought to contribute to the cause. “Having put in place mechanisms, we are leading the way together with all of you when it comes to maintaining and raising the ethical standards in the healthcare sector,” said Dr. Diana. “These standards are the industry’s commitment to trust, which is the most essential ingredient in innovation and patient welfare.”
“In 2013, we initiated the I Stand for Integrity campaign among PHAP Members. Today, we are reaffirming this commitment among companies belonging to PHAP together with all of you present here today,” said Mr. Padilla.
Ms. Lotis Ramin, president of the PHAP Cares Foundation and AstraZeneca PH, also took the opportunity to share the progress of the organization’s efforts to reach out to Filipino communities in need. PHAP Cares was among the responders during Super Typhoon Carina that quickly mobilized “to reach out and donate medicines to several Bulacan municipalities, as well as in Samal, Bataan.”
As a journalist, I was often exposed to the raw aftermath of calamities, and have witnessed many times how communities struggle to recover. The PHAP Cares Foundation is one of our time-tested avenues to help aid reach individuals and families, and I join Ms. Lotis’ call for the generosity and compassion of our fellow Filipinos. If you’re interested in how you can help, you can visit their website at www.phapcares.org/.
A heart full of compassion and the willingness to work in service of those in need is at the core of integrity and professionalism – I’m thankful to find that there are still trailblazers such as the likes of Dr. Diana and countless more doctors, leaders, and stakeholders ready to heed the call. May you inspire the next generation of doctors to join your ranks, and continue to be an instrument of God’s healing.
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