I.

CONSUMER HEALTH  Commercialized health information and paid

— Refers to the welfare of a person who uses health advertisements
information, products and services that have a direct
effect on his/her health. II. ADVERTISEMENTS
— The acquisition of knowledge and correct health — Are intended to convince consumers to patronize
information on the purchase and use of certain certain goods or services.
health products and services. — They are not totally objective and reliable source of
— In order to make a wise or intelligent decision, a information.
person needs to be informed. — Consumers must be intelligent and critical.
A. Consumer Health Education — Consumers must have the right knowledge to make
1)Assist consumers in choosing better health wise decisions.
products and services, A. Appeal Techniques to Lure Consumers
2)Provide information regarding health products 1) Bandwagon Appeal
that consumers wish to avail themselves of — This kind of advertisement says that everyone
3)Help consumers recognize reliable sources of is using the product, so be among the majority.
health information
4)Guide consumers in buying health products and
services.
B. Some Terms
a. Health Product
2) Snob Appeal
— Refers to substances, materials, or equipment
— In this kind of advertisement, it claims that if
prepared for a consumer to buy and use for the
the consumer will buy and use the product,
maintenance of health and treatment of diseases.
he/she will be one of the very few who have
— Examples:
purchased the high-quality product.
 Eyeglasses
— Examples:
 Treadmill
 Products that have “limited editions”
 Blood Pressure Monitor
 Medicines
 Grooming Aids
b. Health Services
— Refers to the health information furnished, actions,
and procedures, or work performed to help satisfy a
person’s needs and wants as a consumer. 3) Testimony Appeal
— Examples: — Well-known people and celebrities are chosen
 Medical and Dental consultation treatments as endorsers.
 Beauty Parlor or Barber Shops
c. Health Information
— Refers to the data and facts about health products
and services that a consumer gets from media
people, including professionals and agencies.
C. Reliable Sources of Health Information
— The data that they provide are based on adequate 4) False-image Appeal
studies that have been conducted — This advertisement promises a better and
 Health Professionals successful life for those who will use the
 Government Agencies (DOH, DTI, BFAD) products.
 Educational Institution
D. Unreliable Sources of Health Information
— Consumers should be wary of information that
comes from non-experts. They should also avoid
products with unverifiable claims.
 Customs and Superstitions
 Information based on ignorance and prejudice
 5) Humor Appeal
— This advertisements use funny songs or jingles,
slogans, or illustration to catch a person’s
attention.
6) Reward Appeal
— This advertising uses prizes and bonuses of
product buyers.
7) Scientific Appeal
— Information having semblance of a scientific
fact is used to describe the product.
III. GUIDELINES ON THE PURCHASE OF PRODUCT AND
SERVICES
1. Identify which products will be beneficial,
harmful, or useless.
2. Know the local laws and regulations that protect
consumers.
3. Locate reliable medical, dental, and nursing
services.
4. Apply knowledge acquired with respect to
personal and environmental health in the
purchase of personal goods and services.
5. Buy only medicines prescribed by physicians.
6. Buy products that have passed the standards set
by the Department of Trade and Industry and its
agencies, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD)
7. Do not be swayed by propaganda
advertisements.
8. Report deceitful health practices to the
authorities.
9. Read the labels of processed, bottled, and
canned goods, and look for the nutritional
values and expiration dates.
IV. HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS
A. Health Professionals
— Accredited by a professional body
— Completed a course of study
— Licensed by a government agency
— Provides preventive, curative, promotional or
rehabilitative health care services.
B. Health Facilities
— Any location where medicine is practiced
regularly.
C. Health Care Plans and Financing Systems
— Also referred to as health care system.
— organization of people, institutions, and
resources who deliver health care services to
the target population.
o Pyramidal Structure for the Three Levels
of Healthcare
National
Health Services
Regional Health Services
District Health Services
Rural(Local
Hospital)Services
RHU’s (Rural Health Units)
Barangay Health Stations
o Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth)
— Created in 1995 to enable universal health
coverage for the Philippines.
— Tax exempt
— Government Owned and Government-
controlled Corporation (GOCC)
— Attached to the DOH
— Aims to have sustainable national health
insurance program for all.
— Provides means for the healthy to pay for the
care of the sick and those who can afford
medical care to subsidize those who cannot.
— Both the local and the national government
allocate funds to subsidize the indigent.
— Provides subsidy for:
 Room and board
 Drugs and medicines
 Laboratory Exams
 Professional Fees
D. Health Maintenance Organizations
— (HMO) is an organization that provides or
arranges managed care for health insurance,
self-funded health care benefit plans and acts
as a liaison with health care providers
(hospitals, doctors, etc.) on a prepaid basis.
V. COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE  Traditional Chinese medicine
(CAM)  Balanced qi (vital energy)
Conventional Medicine  Flow of qi along meridians (energetic
— Is medicine practiced by holders of M.D. pathways)
(Medical Doctor) or D.O. (Doctor of  Acupuncture – insertion of hollow
Osteopathy) and other allied fields. needles along meridians
— Allopathy – conventional medicine or common  Ayurveda – provides guidance regarding
and usual practice food and lifestyle; India
What Is CAM? B. Mind-body interventions
— A group of practices and products that are not — Enhance the mind’s capacity to affect bodily
part of conventional medicine function and symptoms
o Complementary medicine – used with — Support groups and cognitive-behavioral
conventional medicine therapy now part of traditional medicine
o Alternative medicine – used instead of — Scientific support
conventional medicine  Placebo effect – WW II
— Scientific evidence concerning safety and  35% of therapeutic response is due to
effectiveness are available for some CAM belief
therapies — Types
— Research continues so information changes  Prayer
 Yoga
Types of CAM  Meditation
— Shared similarities:  Hypnosis
o Individualized treatments, good nutrition,  Biofeedback
and preventative health practices C. Biologically-based therapies
o Holistic — Use substances found in nature
o Promote self-care and self-healing  Dietary supplements
o Recognition of one’s spiritual nature  Herbal products
A. Alternative medical systems  Foods
— Evolved apart from conventional medicine — Medical assistant should:
 Homeopathic medicine  Keep up-to-date about dietary and
 Uses remedies to produce the herbal products
symptoms in order to stimulate the  Be able to provide reliable resources for
body’s natural defenses to heal itself patients
 Must meet FDA standards  Dietary supplements
 Looks at individuals, not diseases  Manufacturers –> no evidence of
i. Initial in-depth assessment effectiveness or safety
ii. Follow-up – how they are responding  No standardization to ensure
Ex. Allium cepa (onion): Because it consistency and quality
is known to cause tearing of the  Types
eyes and dripping of the nose, it is a ◦ Vitamins
frequent remedy for the common ◦ Minerals
cold and hay fever, especially when ◦ Herbals – no established
there is a thin, watery, and burning recommended daily amount
nasal discharge that irritates the
nostrils. D. Manipulative and body-based methods
 Naturopathic medicine — Based on the manipulation and/or movement
 Relies on the healing power of the body of one or more parts of the body
to establish, maintain, and restore  Types
health  Massage therapy
 Primary health care  Pressure, kneading, stroking, and
◦ Nutritional / lifestyle counseling tapping to positively affect health
◦ Dietary supplements / medicinal plants  Effects
◦ Exercise ◦ Relaxation
◦ Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) ◦ Counteracts effects
of stress
 ◦ Lowers heart rate and
blood pressure
◦ Reduces pain / relaxes muscle
spasms
◦ Improves concentration
◦ Promotes restful sleep
◦ Helps the mind relax
 Chiropractic manipulation
◦ Manual treatments to re-align the
vertebra and restore function of
spinal nerves
 Reflexology
◦ The physical act of applying
pressure to the feet, hands, or ears
with specific thumb, finger and
hand techniques without the use of
oil or lotion.
VI. QUACKERY
— Is a form of “Health Fraud”
— Salient characteristic is aggressive promotion.
— It is “anything involving overpromotion in the field
of health”.
QUACKS:
— are people who perform healing procedures or
prescribe remedies for illnesses even without
formal education and licenses
— Are also called “charlatans” or “Snake Oil”
Salesman
— Quacks have more sophisticated ways to sell
their products. The products are now promoted
on the Internet, TV, and radio; in magazines,
newspapers, and infomercials; by mail; and even
by word-of-mouth.
Pseudo-medicine:
— Term for treatments known to be ineffective
 Claims and promises of Quackery
1. Promises quick, painless cures or results
2. Claims to be effective for a wide range of
ailments
3. Promises weight loss without dieting or
exercise
4. Claims to be made from special, secret
ingredients
5. Guarantees results
6. Uses testimonials of undocumented case
histories from satisfied patients
7. offers a special amount of the product as a
“special promotion”
 The Usual Victim of Medical Quackery
1. Suffer from serious ailments, or diseases
2. are afraid of doctors or refuse to undergo
surgery
3. suffer from severe pains
4. usually put a high premium on vanity.
5. older adults, the health conscious, the beauty
conscious,.
 Possible Effects of Quackery:
1. A person who is terribly ill almost always die
in the hands of quack.
2. A sick person who goes to a quack for
treatment instead of a doctor may only be
prolonging his/her illness.
3. Placebo Effect
- The patient gets well merely by his/ her own
faith, either in the quack or in the remedies
given.
4. Money is wasted since the patient’s condition
will not improve under a quack
5. The patients family will only get false hopes if
the quack assures them of the patient’s
complete healing.
 How to Identify Medical Quacks
1. Some of them utilize advertisements to
promote their product. (word of mouth)
2. Most of them perform their services in their
homes.
3. Some claim to have secret formulas which
cannot obtained from drugstores.
4. Some of them perform their services without
regard for sanitation.
5. Some utter vague prayers or incantations
while they are treating their patients.
6. Most of them use the same procedure or
medical formulas for all kinds of illnesses.
Health Fads/Consumer Craze/ Consumer Myths
— refer to beliefs about health that gain instant
popularity; stay on briefly; then, die down
eventually
◦ Some supplementary food like unproven
herbal drinks or energy drinks
◦ Organic or natural food is better than regular
food available in stores.
◦ Wearing a copper bracelet can alleviate pain
or cure diseases.
◦ Promises weight loss without dieting or
exercise
VII. TYPES OF CONSUMERS
An ideal consumer…
Conscious of his/her rights
Observes keenly before making a decision
Never goes for brands but prefers quality
Saves energy and resources for rainy days
Upgrades his/her purchasing skills
Moderate and wise spending
Examines and reads labels
Reasonable but firm in seeking compensation
Kinds
1. SPENDTHRIFT
— Lavish self with everything that indicates luxury.
— Thrift and economy is not in their character.
— They are extravagant often to a point where
the spending climbs well beyond his or her
means.
2. CLOSE – FISTED
— Hoard money and deprive self of needs
— They always go for the cheap variety thereby
often times suffer from ill health.
3. WASTEFUL
— The purchased good or service does not provide
any use or satisfaction to the consumer.
— They do not switch off the lights or close the
faucet and throws away good food.
4. BARGAIN ADDICT
— Obsessed with all types of bargain sale and
becomes an easy prey to the sales traps by
deceitful traders.
— These consumers has the habit of buying in
shops with buy-one-take-one, 50% discount,
freebies and etc.
5. PANIC BUYERS
— Agitated by rumors of rising prices, product
shortages, and political disorders.
— Tends to hoard unreasonable quantity of
household supplies eventually you become a
factor in the increase and artificial shortages.
6. IMPULSIVE BUYER
— Does not prioritize needs.
— Buys anything that he/she thinks he/she likes
the regrets it afterwards.
— Special offers tempt these types of buyers with
misleading advertisements.
7. INTELLIGENT
— They prioritize needs and limits his/her
purchases on his/her ability to pay.
— They make a list of what to buy, when to buy,
where to buy, and how much to buy.
Benefits Of Being A Wise Consumer
 Protect one’s health and well-being
 Saves time and money
 Build his/her self-confidence
 Protect his/her rights
VIII. CONSUMER RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Department of Trade and Industry identified
Consumer Rights
1. Right to Safety
— To be protected against products, production
methods and services which are hazardous to
health or life.
2. Right to Accurate Information
— To be given the facts needed to make an
informed choice, to be protected against
dishonest or misleading advertising and
labelling.
3. Right to Choose
— To be able to select from a range of products
and services, offered at competitive prices with
an assurance of satisfactory quality.
4. Right to Redress
— To receive a fair settlement of just claims,
including compensation for faulty goods,
misrepresentation or unsatisfactory services.
5. Right to Be Heard
— To have consumer interests represented in the
making and execution of government policy,
and in the development of products and
services.
Consumer Rights come with responsibilities.
According to the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI), consumers have three responsibilities:
1. Critical Awareness
— Consumer must be aware of the uses, prices,
and qualities of goods and services. They must
get information about the products and services
that they will purchase.
2. Active Response
— Consumers must be assertive of their rights to
get a fair deal. They must report fraudulent
practices to proper authorities.
3. Social Concern
— Consumers must be aware of how their
consumption patterns affect other people and
groups. They must not practice wasteful
spending on products.
Coverage for the Periodical Test in HEALTH
A. Consumer Health
B. Guidelines in Buying Products
C. Advertisements
D. Health Service Providers
E. Complementary and Alternative Medicine
F. Quackery
G. Types of Consumers
H. Consumer Rights and Responsibilities
1. Consumer Health
2. Guidelines in Buying Products
3. Advertisements
4. Health Service Providers
5. Complementary and
Alternative Medicine
6. Quackery
7. Types of Consumers
8. Consumer Rights and
Responsibilities