CONSUMER HEALTH

CONSUMER-Is defined as someone who acquires goods or services for direct use or
ownership.
Health Information
Consumer Health- is a state of well-being enjoyed by people who buy products and use
services that research deems safe.
3 components of Consumer Health
1. Health Information 2. Health Product 3. Health Services
Thus, it “ should be timely, relevant, culturally appropriate, accessible and delivered in a
relevant format.
2. Health Product- are food, drugs, cosmetics, devices, biological, vaccines, households/urban
hazardous substances and/or a combination of and/or derivative thereof (FDA Act, 2009).
-these products may be purchased from various places like supermarkets,
pharmacies and hospitals.
SOURCES OF HEALTH INFORMATION AND PRODUCT
RELIABLE SOURCES of health information and products- are licensed professionals who
took up specialized and intensive studies in the field.
- They are the ones who have the qualified educational background and can give scientific
explanation to validate information.
- We can also find reliable health information from health books and accredited online
sources.
UNRELIABLE SOURCES of health Info. and products
- -are those from people who are not experts in this field.
3. HEALTH SERVICES- are often connected to healthcare.
- these programs aim to appraise the health conditions of individuals through screening and
examinations, cure and treat disorders, prevent and control the spread of diseases, provide
safety, emergency care and first aid and ensure a follow-up health program.
Health Services- are usually offered by health care providers. “ A healthcare provider is a
trained professional who provides people with healthcare”
Different Types of Healthcare Providers
I. Health Professionals
Individual who are licensed to practice medicine and other allied health program.
Ex. Physician, Doctor etc.
Physician- a physician records the medical history of individuals, provides diagnoses, performs
medical examination.
II. Healthcare Facilities
- are places or institutions that offer healthcare services.
A. HOSPITAL
-It is an institutions where people undergo medical diagnosis, care and treatment.
A hospital offers different types of medical care like inpatient and out patient services.
Different kinds of HOSPITALS
 Private- operated by individuals to gain profit.
 Voluntary- does not require profit because it is owned by a community or organization.
 Government- or public hospital is being run by the states and the fees are subsidized.
 Teaching- hospital includes a school for medical students.
Two Classifications of Hospitals in the Philippines
1. General Hospital- have complete medical, surgical and maternal care facilities.
2. Specialty Hospital- handle a particular disease or condition or deal with one type of
patient.
Ex. Philippine Heart Center etc.
B. WALK-IN SURGERY CENTER
- It is a facility that offers surgery without the patient being admitted in the hospital.
C. HEALTH CENTER
- The services in a health center cater to a specific population with various health needs.
D. EXTENDED HEALTHCARE FACILITY
- A facility that provides treatment, nursing care and residential services to patients, often the
elderly.
III. Health Insurance
- Is a financial agreement between an insurance company and an individual or group for
the payment of healthcare cost.
Health Insurance- may be sourced from both public and private companies.
- Example for public health Insurance is PhilHealth.
- Types of coverage of Insurance
- Medical insurance- pays for the fees of the health professionals, laboratory test and
prescription drugs.
- Major Medical Insurance- offers payment for long-term such AIDS and Cancer.
- Hospitalization Insurance- pays for the stay of the patient inside the hospital.
- Surgical Insurance- pays for surgery fees.
- Disability Insurance- provides financing for members who meet accidents or suffer
from illnesses.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)- is a healthcare provider that offers medical services
that are availed through a prepaid amount of money. The difference of HMO with others
insurance companies is that it hires or trains its own health professionals and healthcare
practitioners.
COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE (CAM)
-Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the popular term for health and wellness
therapies that have typically not been part of conventional Western medicine.
-Complementary means treatments that are used along with conventional medicine. Alternative
means treatments used in place of conventional medicine.
CAM- focuses on the whole person and includes physical, emotional, mental and spiritual
health. For example, CAM includes mind-body medicine (such as meditation, acupuncture and
yoga), manipulative and body-based practices (such as massage therapy and spinal
manipulation), and natural products (such as herbs and dietary supplements).
Republic Act No. 8423 (Traditional and alternative Medicine Act of 1997)- provisioned the
creation of the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Healthcare (PITACH), which
works closely with the Department of Health. The PITCH is also the law-making body with
regards to the effective use of CAM.
Example of Alternative Medicine
1. ACUPUNCTURE
- it is a form of energy medicine where long thin needles are inserted to specific parts of the
body to affect the energy flow. Acupuncture is believed to treat musculoskeletal dysfunctions
2. Ventosa Cupping Massage Therapy.
-this procedure is done by placing inverted glasses that have flames from burning cotton, on
specific points in the body. It is believed to relieved to muscle and joint pains.
3. REFLEXOLOGY
- similar to acupuncture, reflexology focuses on treating specific disorders through
massaging of the soles of the feet.
4. ACUPRESSURE
- acupressure uses the same technique as that of acupuncture. The only difference is
that acupressure does not use needles but hands to apply pressure on certain points of the
body.
5. Nutrition Therapy
 - Nutrition therapy approaches treatment of a medical condition by providing a tailored diet
for the patient
Some examples for Traditional and Alternative Medicines
1. NATUROPATHY
2. HERBAL MEDICINE (there are 10 herbs that are proven and tested to medicinal values and
approved by the DOH).
Quackery
- a form of a health fraud, is any advertisement, promotion, or sale of products and
services that have not been scientifically proven safe and effective. It is operated by a
quack.
- A QUACK- is an individual that has little or no professional qualifications to practice
medicine.
- She/he also pretentiously uses meaningless medical jargon and relies on scare tactics,
paranoid accusations and quick fixes.
3 Major Characteristics of Health Quackery
1. First, it is a big business- a huge amount of money is spent on fraudulent health
product and services.
2. Seconds, it multiples and spread fast
3. Lastly, it thrives on individuals who are diagnosed with illness that are known
to have no cure.
3 forms of quackery
1. Medical Quackery
-Medical quackery includes cures, treatment, and remedies of various health conditions that are
drugless or bloodless in nature.
2. Nutrition Quackery
-involves promotion of food fads and other nutritional practices that claim to be all-
natural. These are believed to have beneficial properties of multiple plants in one product.
3. Device Quackery
- Device quackery makes use of miraculous gadgets (such as dials, gauges, electrodes
and blinkers) that believe to cure certain health conditions.