Asian Hospital & Healthcare Management - Issue 54

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HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT

Patient-centricity

The foundation of building a sustainable healthcare access ecosystem in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia’s healthcare access ecosystem is now at a critical juncture. To improve access for the long term, Joseph shares why healthcare stakeholders in the public and private sectors must enhance sustainability around the key aspects of finance, treatment and health systems. Joseph Saba, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Axios International

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outheast Asia’s healthcare landscape has irrevocably changed. Due to the demographic shifts the region has been experiencing – such as ageing populations1 and the rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs)2 – governments and healthcare

stakeholders must now reassess3 healthcare expenditure and reforms to not only improve health ecosystems in terms of equitable access, but also sustainability. However, a major challenge to these is that the healthcare ecosystem has not evolved in tandem with broader socio-

1 https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/ageing 2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC7371561/

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A SI A N H O S P I T A L & H EA LT HCA R E M A N AGE M E N T

3 https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/684701/adbi-wp1220.pdf

IS S UE - 54, 2021

economic development4, especially in Southeast Asia’s emerging markets. This challenge was exacerbated further due to COVID-19, which spotlighted the gaps5 within the region’s healthcare access ecosystem. 4 https://iigh.unu.edu/publications/articles/health-andhealthcare-systems-in-southeast-asia.html 5 https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/01/14/covid-19-in-southeast-asia-regional-pandemic-preparedness-matters/


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