Strategic Technical Advisory Committee

Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems

December 2, 2015
Auditorium Annexes 1 & 2
Asian Development Bank Headquarters, Mandaluyong City
Morning Session: Focus on the Philippines
Objective
The STAC seeks to explore end users feedback on the APO publications and practices in the
Philippines, with the aim of strengthening future work in the country and region.
Methodology
The session will be organized around the 3 product lines of the APO:

Policy Briefs, with focus on vital statistics and reducing uncertainty on causes of death
Comparative Country Studies, with a focus on hospital funding and case based payment
systems
Health Systems in Transition review, including follow-on support for policy dialogues

The session will be a discussion forum. For each product line, a selected publication will be
introduced by one of the authors followed by a moderated discussion. The STAC Chair will serve as
the moderator for each agenda item.
Discussion Forum Agenda
08:30 09:00 Registration
09:00 09:15 Introductions, Overview of the APO and the STAC Discussion Forum
Caryn Bredenkamp, Dale Huntington
STAC Chair, Director APO
09:15 10:15 Policy Brief: Strengthening Vital Statistics Systems: What are the practical
interventions necessary to reduce ignorance and uncertainty about causes of
death and disease burden in the Asia Pacific region?
Professor Alan Lopez
University of Melbourne
Bloomberg Initiative for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics

Discussion Points:
How relevant is the technical content of the Policy Brief to the Philippines context?
Are the suggested actions aligned with contemporary directions of CRVS in the Philippines?
How can the dissemination / use of the Policy Brief be strengthened?
10:15 10:30 Coffee Break
10:30 11:30 Comparative Country Studies: Case Based Payments for Hospital Funding in Asia
Professor Soonman Kwon
Seoul National University
Discussion Points:
Discuss the current directions of PhilHealth payment reforms and the relevance of the
information from the Comparative Country Study publication
What are some potential uses of the book for advising and informing the development of
case-based payments and DRGs in the Phiippines?
11:30 12:00 Philippines Health System in Transition review
Dr Lilibeth David
Under Secretary
Department of Health
Discussion Points:
How has the HiT been used since its release in 2011?
Have the Living HiT updates been effective in recording changes since the 2011
publication?
Going forward, how should the renewal of the HiT be conducted to ensure strategic use of
new information on the Philippines health system?
12:00 12:30 General Discussion of the APO in the Philippines
Caryn Bredenkamp
STAC Chair
Discussion Points:
In general, are the APO publications useful for countries?
Is the structure and methodological approach used in the HiTs, Policy Briefs and
Comparative Country Studies right?
What new areas of health policy development should the STAC consider for future APO
work?
12:30

Lunch STAC and Discussion Forum Participants

Closed Door Afternoon Session: STAC members only

13:30 15:00 Research Hub Director Reports: 2016 Annual Activity Plans
15:00 15:30 Coffee Break
15:30 16:30 APO Director Report: 2016 2018 Medium Term Strategy
16:30 17:00 Formulation of STAC report to the Board, Decision Points
17:00 Closure