Integrated Clinical Clerkship in Emergency Medicine AY 2021- 2022

Without doubt, pre-hospital care is critical in improving outcomes for patients. The time between an acute life-threatening event and hospital intervention is important, thus the interventions provided before arrival to the emergency room would help increase chances of survival and decrease possibility of morbidity. However, not all Filipinos have access to such services. This is especially true for those who live in remote areas. Availability of pre-hospital care that encompass life-saving medications and equipment, as well as healthcare workers with sufficient emergency care training, is extremely lacking. They would need to cross rivers and walk through mountains just to get the care they need. The delay in providing important pre-hospital care especially in acute life-threatening conditions can lead to devastating outcomes for the person and his community, thus it is imperative that access to healthcare be improved. Provision of pre-hospital care services especially in remote areas would also be one way of bridging the inequity that is prevalent throughout the current Philippine healthcare system. It is only just that each Filipino will be given a fighting chance against acute life-threatening conditions through pre-hospital care.