1st Periodical

CONSUMER HEALTH

Health Information

- the practice acquiring, analyzing, and protecting digital and traditional medical information to provide superior health care.

*Inaccessibility of health care services and information, especially in rural areas is one of the problems of the health sector. To address this, the department of health (DOH) together with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to create a venue that allows better access to health services, facilities, and information.

Health Information Management

- the practice of maintenance and care of health records by;

1. Traditional (paper based) and electronic means in hospitals

2. Doctor’s offices and clinics

3. Health Departments

4. Health insurances companies and other information

*A good health information system ensures the production, analysis dissemination and use of reliable and timely information on health determinants, health system performance, and health status. Acquired information supplies the basis on how to provide better access to timely, complete, and accurate policies for more effective health interventions.

*Philippine Health Information Exchange - a system that allows easy access to the health information from the national to the barangay level. It enables the storage of heath-related data which can be viewed by authorized health care providers. This can help policy makers and health managers to formulate better health programs.

Health Products

- substances such as vitamins and minerals, herbal medicines, homeopathic preparations, energy drinks, probiotics, and other alternative and traditional medicines that can be obtained without a prescription and are required to be safe to use as over-the–counter products.

*There are 10 Philippine medicinal plant species approved for therapeutic use by the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) under the Department of Health (DOH)

Lagundi – Cough and asthma

Sambong – Anti-Urolithiasis (Kidney Stone)

Ampalaya – Lowering of Blood sugar and antidiabetic

Garlic – Anti-cholesterol

Guava- Oral/Skin antiseptic

Tsaang Gubat - Mouthwash

Yerba-Buena – Analgesic or Anti-pyretic

Niyug-Niyogan – Anti-helminthic

Acapulo – Antifungal

Ulasimang Bato – Anti-hyperurisema

PRODUCT COVERAGE

1. Natural Ingredients Category

- Plant parts

- Extracts

- Essential Oils

- Semi-Processed raw materials

2. Finished Product Category

A. Human Products

- Herbal medicines

- Traditional medicines

- Cosmetics

- Health supplements

B. Household and Homecare Products

- Laundry detergents

- Insect repellent

C. Veterinary Products

- Drugs

- Cosmetics

- Health supplements

D. Green Fertilizers and Pesticides

- Probiotics

Health Services

*Include all services that deal with the diagnosis and treatment of disease that provides medical treatment and care to the public or to a particular group. They include personal and non-personal health services that refer to the way inputs such as money, staff, equipment, and drugs are combined to allow the delivery of health interventions.

HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDERS

Health Professionals

- individuals accredited by professional body upon completing a course of study and ate usually licensed by a government agency

- persons who practice a health-related professions such as:

- Dentistry

- Nursing

- Physical therapy

- Medicine

- Occupational health

*Health service provider are people who provide preventive, curative, promotive, and rehabilitative health care services to people, families , or communities. They are highly skilled workers engaged in professions that require extensive knowledge.

*They include physicians, physician assistants, dentists, midwives, radiographers, registered nurse and others who works in hospitals, healthcare centers, etc. Some even provide care and treatment services for patients in private homes.

Occupational Hazards

*Occupational stress and occupational burnout are highly prevalent among health professionals. Some studies suggest that workplace stress is pervasive in the health care industry because inadequate staffing levels, long work hours, exposure to infectious disease, hazardous substances leading to illness or death.

*Another occupational risk is exposure to dangerous chemicals and diseases contracted through extended contact with patient ,including contracting blood – borne disease like hepatitis B,C and HIV/AIDS.

*Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is the mode of protection for healthcare workers from infectious disease. For it to be effective against highly contagious diseases, personal protective equipment must be watertight and prevent skin from contacting infectious material.

*Health care professionals also experience sleep deprivation due to their jobs shift work schedule. Sleep deprivation predispose healthcare professionals to make mistakes that may protentional endanger a patient.

Health Facilities

*A medical facility is any location which medicine is practiced regularly. They are places that provide health care which include hospitals, clinics, birthing centers and psychiatric care center that provide health care.

Types of Health Care Facilities

- Hospitals

- Ambulatory surgical center

- Doctor’s Office

- Urgent Care Clinic

- Nursing Home

Factors to consider when choosing a health facility

- How close it is to where you live or work

- Whether your health insurance will pay for services there

- Whether your health care provider can treat you there

- The quality and facility

*A health care system is the organization of people, institutions and resources who deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target population.

QUACKERY

- is the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. A quack is a fraudulent or ignorant pretender in the medical field who pretends to be skilled with professional knowledge or qualifications that he or she does not possess. This person is called a “charlatan’’.

Quackery may result in physical and psychological effects. Quackery victims may get allergies as a result of wrong prescriptions, might acquire other illnesses, or worsen their health conditions. It is derived from the word “quacksalver,” which literally means “hawker of slaves. ”quacksalvers sold their wares in the market by shouting in a loud voice.

Is advertising ineffective or an unproven cure for some diseases. It is also malpractice in medical professions. The main objective of this type is to make money or profit.

Types of Quackery

Device Quackery

Medical Quackery

Nutritional Quackery

Types of Medical Quackery

1. Alternative Mental Health Treatments

These treatments including exorcism, conversion therapy, and vitamin therapy can keep a person from seeking professional mental health treatments. they can leave a person reluctant to use actual therapy or can cause actual mental illness like depression.

2. Spiritual Healing

This treatment comes in two forms: Faith Healing and Energy Healing. The danger of these treatments lies in the belief of the sick that they are being healed or will be healed by a supreme being or an outside energy force. This can lead a person to forgo medical treatment which can actually heal him or her instead of just waiting to be healed.

3. Alternative Cancer Cures

The attraction of these treatments is they are less painful and have less unpleasant results. These “cures” are based on testimonies of some people claiming to be doctors who are in reality, con artists. They do not work and can even make it much worse and complicated.

4. Anti-Vaccine

This belief is the most dangerous form of quackery. It was a result of lies that say vaccine causes autism and other types of neurological disorders when it truth is the opposite. Vaccines can prevent neurological disorders caused by certain diseases in young children and infants that can cause death and other life-threatening illnesses.

DEVICE QUACKERY

Deceive customers by exaggerating the quality of the device they are selling and its efficiency

NUTRITIONAL QUACKERY

Is the most profitable quackery. It advertises products with no significant effect on the consumer and not approved by the Bureau of Food and Drugs

Claims and Promises of Quackery

• Promises quick, painless cures and results

• Claims to be effective for a wide range of ailments

• Promises weight loss without dieting or exercise

• Claims to be made by special, secret ingredients

• Guarantees results

• Uses testimonials or undocumented case histories from satisfied patients

• Offers an additional amount of the product as a “special promotion”

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

CAM - is the term used for medical products and practices that are not part of standard medical care. They include a wide variety of botanical and nutritional products like dietary supplements, herbal supplements, and vitamins.

• Complementary medicine is treatment used along with conventional medical treatments but are not considered to be standard treatments. People use complementary practices together with doctor's care to deal with chronic health problems, treat symptoms, or stay healthy.

• Most mind and body practices such as acupuncture, meditation, and yoga are very safe when used by healthy people together with well-trained instructor or practitioner.

Examples of Complementary Medicine

a. Alternative Health approach such as traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, and naturopathy.

b. Mind and body practices like acupuncture, massage therapy, and tai chi

c. Natural products like herbs, dietary supplements, and probiotics.

Conventional Medicine

- is a system which medical doctors and other healthcare professionals (such as nurse, pharmacists and therapist) treats symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation or surgery.

Alternative Medicine

Is a term describing medical treatments used instead of traditional (mainstream) therapies.

Other Alternative & complementary Medical Practices

Acupressure

- is similar in practice to acupuncture without the needles. Practitioners use their hands, elbows, or feet to apply pressure to specific points along the body’s “meridians’’. Meridians are channels that carry life energy throughout the body.

Acupuncture

• is an array of procedures that stimulate specific points on the body with the most known variety consisting of penetrating the skin with thin needles controlled by practitioner or electrical stimulation

Effects of acupuncture

a. To relieve nausea

b. Relieve some symptoms of side effects of cancer

c. Treat symptoms of osteoarthritis

d. Treatment of headaches

Aromatherapy

- uses essential oils that concentrated extracts from roots, leaves, seeds or blossoms of plants to promote healing.

Ayurvedic medicine

- is originated in India with practitioners using variety of techniques, including herbs, massage, and specialized diets, with the intent of balancing the body, mind spirit to promote overall wellness.

Balneotherapy /Hydrotherapy

- is based on the idea that water benefits the skin and might treat range of conditions from acne to pain, swelling, and anxiety.

Biofeedback

- it allows people to control bodily processes that normally happen involuntary like heart rate, blood pressure, muscle, tension, and skin temperature to improve conditions including high blood pressure, headaches, chronic pain.

Reflexology

- is based on the theory that certain points in specific areas on the body correspond to different body organs and systems.

Ventosa

- is referred to as “cupping therapy” it is an ancient form of alternative medicine where a local suction is created on the skin to mobilize blood flow and promote healing.

Herbal Medicine

They are alternative medicines that usually involve medicinal plants and herbs:

• Banaba – Diabetes treatment and weight loss

• Acapulco - treating worms and skin fungal infection

• Ampalaya - for diabetes

• Guava - disinfect wounds, mouthwash to treat tooth decay and gum infection

• Lagundi - relief cough and asthma