The current status and challenges in multiple sclerosis management in the Philippines.

BACKGROUND: The provision of adequate services for individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is an important issue since MS has a chronic and debilitating course.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to review the literature on health service delivery for individuals with MS in the Philippines and identify the gaps in adequate provision of healthcare in these individuals.

METHODS: We reviewed data from relevant local and international repositories on health service delivery for individuals with MS in the Philippines.

RESULTS: The epidemiology of MS in the Philippine setting remains unknown. Approximately 1 neurologist caters to 175,000 Filipinos aged 15 and above, and nearly half are practicing in the National Capital Region. Physical access to magnetic resonance imaging is severely limited at 0.8 MRI unit per million Filipinos. Household out-of-pocket payment and voluntary health care payment schemes contributed 53.9% and 12.2%, respectively, to the current health expenditures. The average monthly income of a Filipino household is only 519 USD which may not be enough to cover treatment of a single relapse let alone costly disease-modifying treatments.

CONCLUSION: The Philippines faces challenges in terms of the availability of accurate epidemiologic information, resource allocation, access to services and provision of therapies for individuals with MS.