Analysis of the Healthcare and Overall Economic Competitiveness of Santiago, Isabela, Philippines

Abstract

City of Santiago, Isabela, is otherwise known as the “Queen City of the North” and the only independent component city in region 2 that substantially contributes to the overall production and competitiveness of the region. This study aimed to determine the influence of the state of healthcare to the economic competitiveness, identify the determinants that contribute to the demand for healthcare, discover the factors that affect the choices of consumers to healthcare services, and measure the effect of healthcare inputs on the level of mortality rate in the City of Santiago, Isabela, Philippines. Primary and secondary data were utilized, and even employed descriptive and inferential statistics for the analysis. This study discovered that the competitive index has a significant positive impact on the total annual patients and healthcare facilities while the annual healthcare expenditure of the City of Santiago is insignificant. The demand for healthcare services arises because of demographic, medical-related, and socio-economic factors. Moreover, the prime factor influencing residents' acquiring healthcare services is the quality itself. Lastly, the mortality rate has a significant inverse impact on the number of general practitioners and medical specialists in the city, while the number of hospital beds showed a significant positive effect.