UNIFIED MEDICAL AID SERVICE

UNIFIED MEDICAL AID SERVICE

If lawyers now have the Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS) under the Supreme Court rules, shouldn’t doctors have something similar? I say yes—and I propose we establish the Unified Medical Aid Service (UMAS).

UMAS would be the doctor’s counterpart to ULAS. Its aim? To ensure that medical professionals render service to those who need it most—particularly the poor, the remote, the neglected, and the forgotten.

Let’s be clear: this is not about punishing doctors or burdening them. It is about giving structure to what many already do voluntarily helping the underserved through medical missions, free clinics, and community work.

UMAS shall officially replace the old Doctors to the Barrios program. But unlike that model which physically deploys young doctors to far-flung areas for years, UMAS is more flexible. It gives doctors choices. They may render pro bono services:

·       In their own clinics, attending to indigent patients.

·       In medical missions by NGAs, NGOs, LGUs, or even private companies under their CSR programs.

·       In jails, orphanages, rural health units, or public hospitals.

·       Online, through telemedicine or digital health consultations.

This flexibility is key. Some doctors may not be able to travel or uproot themselves—but they still want to help. Others, such as retired or balikbayan doctors, may want to volunteer when and where they can. UMAS can give them that space.

A tax credit system—perhaps through BIR in coordination with DOH—can help offset the costs of medical equipment and supplies doctors use when delivering these services. That’s fair. Service must not become a financial burden.

There should also be a formal system where NGAs, LGUs, NGOs, and even corporate CSR units can request doctors under UMAS. And priority should be given to national agencies like DOH, DSWD, PCSO, PhilHealth, NCSC, NCIP, and PAGCOR.

I also propose that medical students who volunteer under UMAS should earn time credits, to be applied when they become full-fledged doctors. This builds a pipeline of service-minded professionals.

And what about services delivered online to OFWs and Indigenous Peoples in geographically isolated areas? These should not just be allowed—they should be encouraged. It’s high time we recognize the value of telemedicine, especially in a country with more than 7,000 islands.

I stand witness to the world class doctors who attended to me when I was sick, and who might have saved my life. I am happy about that, but I am also sad about the fact that I received the attention that I needed because I had the money to pay for it. however, I always wonder about the other patients who could not get the medical care that they need, because there are no doctors who are available for them.

I am always awed at how Dr. Jim Sanchez could perform surgeries for free trough his “Hospital on Wheels”. I often wish that I could clone that one-of-a-kind doctor and replicate what he is doing, so that there could be thousands of doctors like him who could reach out to serve the poor. Perhaps, with the help of UMAS, my wish could now come true. And yes, I have another wish—that doctors will not dislike me for thinking of this idea!

So, here’s my question: If we have a system to make lawyers serve the poor, why can’t we have one for doctors too?

UMAS can be our answer. It’s not just a public health initiative—it’s a moral one.

It’s time we give medicine the structured, nation-first heart it deserves.

Let’s build UMAS. Let’s heal as one.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres
iseneres@yahoo.com, 09088877282, senseneres.blogspot.com

09-17-2025 

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