I've long considered moving to another treatment hub (TH) but kept on postponing it because of the legwork and paperwork it would entail but after the new policies being implemented in RITM-ARG and the loss of the homely atmosphere the ARG used to have, I think I will be moving to another hub soon.
I live and work in Makati City so any hub that's nearer to me would be more convenient.
I'm eyeing MMC, PGH or TMC as hubs I will transfer to. Anybody knows what steps do I need to take?
Showing posts with label procedures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label procedures. Show all posts
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Crazy policy at RITM-ARG
I don't know exactly when it was implemented but I believe it was in the middle or past middle of last year. I am referring to the new policy at the Aids Research Group (ARG) at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) whereby those who would undergo CD4 count should be at the clinic between 7 and 8 a.m. from that time on. No CD4 count requests will be entertained after that. If a PLHIV misses his CD4 count appointment, he or she will have to take the next one SIX MONTHS AFTER. I call that crazy but I will get to that in awhile.
Let me digress for a moment. In the past, CD4 counts are done every Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at RITM and PLHIVs who need to go through it have until 10 a.m. to do so. It was good and didn't need to be changed until last year. As they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it?
Anyway, when I went to the RITM-ARG sometime August or September last year, I was surprised to find an announcement on the way setting a new schedule for CD4 count. Weekdays and between 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. only. Okay, I told myself, I will just have to get up really early when I'm due to have my CD4 count (the last one I had in April last year was 407 or 409).
I talked to Nurse Maram (in-charge of laboratory tests for PLHIVs) and she informed me of the new policy so my CD4 count was set on October 26, 2012. She asked for my contact number so she can text and remind me of it prior to the date it is supposed to be done.
Unfortunately, I forgot all about my CD4 schedule because I was really busy at work and I didn't receive any text from RITM-ARG reminding me about it as Nurse Maram had assured me. So I texted Ate Ellen and Ate Beth or RITM-ARG if I can have it reset to November or December at the latest. They referred the matter to Nurse Maram who adamantly rejected my request to reschedule my CD4 count to April 11, 2013. Geez!
Now my concern is this: what if my CD4 on October last year had dropped dangerously low which I will never know because Nurse Maram said I can only have my next CD4 count in April. And what if something bad happened to me because my CD4 was already very low and it wasn't known because Nurse Maram rejected my request to have it reset to November or December. Nurse Maram is to blame for it.
Anyway, I hope the RITM-ARG would think of possible scenarios relative to a change in any policy or rules that might put a PLHIV at a disadvantage. Lives are at stake here. They should always be aware of that.
Let me digress for a moment. In the past, CD4 counts are done every Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at RITM and PLHIVs who need to go through it have until 10 a.m. to do so. It was good and didn't need to be changed until last year. As they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it?
Anyway, when I went to the RITM-ARG sometime August or September last year, I was surprised to find an announcement on the way setting a new schedule for CD4 count. Weekdays and between 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. only. Okay, I told myself, I will just have to get up really early when I'm due to have my CD4 count (the last one I had in April last year was 407 or 409).
I talked to Nurse Maram (in-charge of laboratory tests for PLHIVs) and she informed me of the new policy so my CD4 count was set on October 26, 2012. She asked for my contact number so she can text and remind me of it prior to the date it is supposed to be done.
Unfortunately, I forgot all about my CD4 schedule because I was really busy at work and I didn't receive any text from RITM-ARG reminding me about it as Nurse Maram had assured me. So I texted Ate Ellen and Ate Beth or RITM-ARG if I can have it reset to November or December at the latest. They referred the matter to Nurse Maram who adamantly rejected my request to reschedule my CD4 count to April 11, 2013. Geez!
Now my concern is this: what if my CD4 on October last year had dropped dangerously low which I will never know because Nurse Maram said I can only have my next CD4 count in April. And what if something bad happened to me because my CD4 was already very low and it wasn't known because Nurse Maram rejected my request to have it reset to November or December. Nurse Maram is to blame for it.
Anyway, I hope the RITM-ARG would think of possible scenarios relative to a change in any policy or rules that might put a PLHIV at a disadvantage. Lives are at stake here. They should always be aware of that.
Monday, May 16, 2011
An open letter to Philhealth
Dear Philhealth,
Firstly, I'd like to think that persons living with HIV (PLHIVs) like me truly appreciate your gesture of taking care of/subsidizing the cost of antiretrovirals (ARVs) that many of us take and of certain laboratory tests that we need to undergo relative to our medical condition, especially with the approaching termination of the Global Fund's financing of the same by December 2012. It would be of great help to us - financially, that is.
But I have some gripes with the way your office is treating us PLHIVs, who do not deserve to be burdened with certain requirements and procedures that would only stress us out a lot. Do know that stress and/or depression is not good for those like me.
You have required PLHIVS still not taking ARVs to pay for the CD4 count, for example. Whether or not, they have Philhealth. A CD4 count in a certain treatment hub costs P3,000! That amount is too heavy for someone who is earning just the minimum wage or barely reaching minimum wage. What if a PLHIV cannot afford to take that count or some other lab tests because of lack of funds? He or she will never know the current status of his or her immuno-compromised health unless he or she undergoes the regular physical exams and lab tests.
Another predicament that PLHIVs face is having to ask our human resources (HR), administrative heads, or managers to sign the CF1 form, which we need to submit every time we get ARVs or every three months. The most common questions asked of us who ask our employers or company officers to sign the documents are: what is this for and why do we need to sign it? We are a loss on how to explain it. We cannot tell them we have HIV, right? Or that we need this document for our HIV treatment.
I have learned that doctors of designated treatment hubs and representatives of PLHIV groups have met Philhealth officers and asked if your office can accept payslips instead of the CF1 because of the difficulty faced by PLHIVs in having it signed. The payslips would show that the employed is a regular contributor to Philhealth anyway. But your office have reportedly turned down the suggestion saying that payslips can be faked. But your office can check with where the PLHIV is working to determine if he or she is indeed employed there as suggested also but your office said that it would entail lots of work and would be an additional burden on your part.
We have the option though to tell our company that we will personally take over paying our contributions directly to Philhealth in order to evade questions on the signing of the CF1 forms but that would be tedious for PLHIVs, knowing how slow procedures are when it comes to government office transactions.
Sigh.
So we PLHIVs have no choice but to submit the CF1 form, along with the MDR every three months, and face the scrutiny of our employers, even the risk of not having our CF1 forms signed unless we can adequately explain why and for what reason is it being submitted for their signature.
I wish your office can make it things easier for us PLHIVs. We already have this medical condition. It was a lapse in our personal judgment by not adhering to safe sex that is why we contracted HIV, but do we have to be "punished" like this by your office?
I hope more consideration would be given to us because the bottom-line here is: lives are at stake.
Yours truly,
R10-AAC of RITM/"Aries"
Firstly, I'd like to think that persons living with HIV (PLHIVs) like me truly appreciate your gesture of taking care of/subsidizing the cost of antiretrovirals (ARVs) that many of us take and of certain laboratory tests that we need to undergo relative to our medical condition, especially with the approaching termination of the Global Fund's financing of the same by December 2012. It would be of great help to us - financially, that is.
But I have some gripes with the way your office is treating us PLHIVs, who do not deserve to be burdened with certain requirements and procedures that would only stress us out a lot. Do know that stress and/or depression is not good for those like me.
You have required PLHIVS still not taking ARVs to pay for the CD4 count, for example. Whether or not, they have Philhealth. A CD4 count in a certain treatment hub costs P3,000! That amount is too heavy for someone who is earning just the minimum wage or barely reaching minimum wage. What if a PLHIV cannot afford to take that count or some other lab tests because of lack of funds? He or she will never know the current status of his or her immuno-compromised health unless he or she undergoes the regular physical exams and lab tests.
Another predicament that PLHIVs face is having to ask our human resources (HR), administrative heads, or managers to sign the CF1 form, which we need to submit every time we get ARVs or every three months. The most common questions asked of us who ask our employers or company officers to sign the documents are: what is this for and why do we need to sign it? We are a loss on how to explain it. We cannot tell them we have HIV, right? Or that we need this document for our HIV treatment.
I have learned that doctors of designated treatment hubs and representatives of PLHIV groups have met Philhealth officers and asked if your office can accept payslips instead of the CF1 because of the difficulty faced by PLHIVs in having it signed. The payslips would show that the employed is a regular contributor to Philhealth anyway. But your office have reportedly turned down the suggestion saying that payslips can be faked. But your office can check with where the PLHIV is working to determine if he or she is indeed employed there as suggested also but your office said that it would entail lots of work and would be an additional burden on your part.
We have the option though to tell our company that we will personally take over paying our contributions directly to Philhealth in order to evade questions on the signing of the CF1 forms but that would be tedious for PLHIVs, knowing how slow procedures are when it comes to government office transactions.
Sigh.
So we PLHIVs have no choice but to submit the CF1 form, along with the MDR every three months, and face the scrutiny of our employers, even the risk of not having our CF1 forms signed unless we can adequately explain why and for what reason is it being submitted for their signature.
I wish your office can make it things easier for us PLHIVs. We already have this medical condition. It was a lapse in our personal judgment by not adhering to safe sex that is why we contracted HIV, but do we have to be "punished" like this by your office?
I hope more consideration would be given to us because the bottom-line here is: lives are at stake.
Yours truly,
R10-AAC of RITM/"Aries"
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