12-Oct-15 According to the 2015 Quality of Death index, the Philippines lacks a strategy for palliative care, making Manila the worst place to die after Iraq and Bangladesh. Although the government has palliative care programs, its major thrust is universal healthcare. “We are improving the services of PhilHealth, and the number of health issues under its coverage has increased,” said a spokesperson. [image: Philstar]

10-Sep-15 Queensland has seen a 42% increase in outpatient telehealth services in the 2015 financial year, while inpatient consultations doubled off a low base. Oncology consultations led outpatient services provided, while geriatric and general medical/surgical consultations saw the most growth for inpatient telehealth. Queensland has over 3,000 systems in over 200 hospitals and clinics. [image: Pulse + IT]

10-Oct-15 Myanmar is trying to kick its foreign drug habit: In recent years the government has offered incentives to seven private distributors to try their hand at manufacturing domestically. All other pharmaceutical products – between 80 percent and 90 percent – are imported. [image: Ann Wang / Frontier Myanmar]

09-Oct-15 The Shanghai Medical Tourism Products & Promotions Platform is positioning the city for a mega-boom in medical tourism among mainlanders and foreigners alike, most notably in surgery, cosmetic procedures, TCM, dentistry and stem cell research. Shanghai may not have any beaches, but as its state-of-the-art public and private hospitals will soon become a major hub for health tourism. [image: Formosa Travel]

08-Oct-15 The average amount spent on medical expenses in Taiwan for people aged 65+ was nearly three times the national average in 2014. People aged 51-64 had average medical expenses of NT$36,274 (USD1,100), compared with NT$7,069 (USD214) for people aged 7-18. The figures are based on the amount spent to reimburse medical institutions under the country's universal health insurance program. [image: Want China Times]