TAGUM CITY, DAVAO DEL NORTE, April 25 (PIA): Maternal Mortality Rate in Mindanao is expected to go down with more rural health doctors trained to use the ultrasound for early detection of pregnancy complications.
Department of Health assistant secretary Dr. Romulo Busuego shared this vision as he revealed the target of DOH to train about 100 rural health doctors to use the ultrasound in diagnosing complications of pregnancy.
The DOH formally started rolling out the program Tuesday on the first day of the 10-day OB-Sonography Training for Primary Care Physicians at the Davao Regional Hospital located in Apokon, Tagum City, Davao del Norte.
Two rural health doctors from Bukidnon, one from Lanao del Norte, one from Zamboanga Sibugay, one from Misamis Occidental and one from Misamis Oriental join the first batch of OB-Sonography training hosted by DRH with which Dr. Busuego also serves as the chief of hospital.
The training bills each participant a fee of P160,000 for a package of one unit of portable ultrasound machine, board and lodging and the training which brings a panel of experts among whom are from the Institute of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (IDMS).
“They can readily bring home the ultrasound machine,” Dr. Busuego said while he viewed ultrasound to become a common medical equipment available at the municipal, provincial and district hospitals , “just like the stethoscope”.
“What is ultrasound? It’s but a simple technology that can be learned by anybody trained to use it,” he said in putting emphasis on the need to provide “justice to the health needs” of those who badly need it at the community level especially the pregnant women.
Dr. Romulo raised concern over the prevailing increase in number of mothers who died of pregnancy complications which could have been prevented if detected earlier with the use of an ultrasound.
Prevailing MMR is placed at 160 per 100,000 population which is an increase from 120 per 100,000 but Dr. Busuego said DOH targets to bring the MMR down at 50 per 100,000 level.
With this program piloted in Mindanao, Dr. Busuego hopes that MMR reduction in Mindanao would contribute a two-third to the overall decrease of MMR.
Dr. Busuego laid down strategic approach of bringing down MMR through the Rural Health OB-Sonography Program targeting the 800,000 Mindanao-based conditional cash transfer recipient families who badly need primary health care service.
Guidelines of using such ultrasound allows rural health doctors to bring it to far-flung areas so pregnant women can save cost on transportation and medical services previously offered only at medical centers in urban areas.
If rural health doctors can acquire advance training on sonography, Dr. Busuego said the portable ultrasound can be used for early detection of health-related complications other than pregnancy.
IDMS President Dave Santiago in the same forum said IDMS designed such training for non-traditional users of ultrasound such as the RHU medical doctors and allied health practitioners as IDMS shares the advocacy of providing health services at the community level. (PIA XI/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)
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