Philippine Government Approves the National Stroke Policy

27 Jan 2021

The approval of the National Stroke Policy by the Philippine government is a milestone in improving stroke care in the country. After two years of meetings and coordination by the Stroke Society of the Philippines, the Secretary of Health Dr. Francisco Duque recently signed the Administrative Order No 2020-0059 which sets the directions and national policy framework on the Prevention, Control and Management of Acute Stroke in the Philippines.

This order shall apply to all government and private health facilities, Department of Health offices, Center for Health Development, Local Government Units and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The Department of Health (DOH) will develop protocols and referral pathways aligned with existing Acute Stroke Clinical Practice Guidelines. In collaboration with the Stroke Society of the Philippines, professional societies, and other stakeholders, the DOH will drive the following critical elements of the policy:

Build capacity and train health workers on acute stroke management.
Identify and establish Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals (ASRH) in the different areas of the country. A certification program shall be created to ensure the delivery of timely and quality acute stroke care.
Strengthen health promotion and communication in disease prevention and management and ensure public awareness of Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals.
Facilitate formation of referral pathways and utilize health care provider networks to ensure timely referral of patients to ASRH.
Strengthen the National Stroke Registry that is integrated in the Unified Disease Registry System.
Provide adequate coverage and access to essential medicine and services in ASRH by strengthening medicine access program and enhancement of benefit packages and other payment mechanisms for acute stroke.
Ensure active involvement of civil societies, professional societies, non-government organizations, private and public hospitals and private sectors in the implementation of the stroke policy.

The Phil Secretary of Health, Dr. Francisco Duque with Undersecretary Dr. Myra Cabotaje and SSP officers Dr. E. Collantes, Dr. J. Cuanang, Dr. M. Mariano and Dr. L. Laxamana

Department of Health meeting with Dr. R. Paje and SSP officers Dr. E. Collantes, Dr. R. Esagunde, Dr. L. Laxamana together with ANGELS Initiative resource speaker Dr. Francesca Pezzella

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