We write to clarify the news story “Philippine hospitals not good for health -- expert.” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5/27/08)

The headline was in quotation marks, implying that we made a sweeping indictment of Philippine hospitals. We did not, and see no reason why we would ever contemplate doing that.

What actually happened was that during a media briefing that Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) gave, the discussion was exclusively on the risk of harm posed by the widespread use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic in toys, school supplies and medical devices, how these products could leach phthalates and potentially harm especially vulnerable people like children.

We are most concerned that the story must have erroneously given some people the impression that practices in Philippine hospitals, or the hospitals named in the article, were unusual or substandard. Use of PVC medical devices remains legal and widespread worldwide and we wish to emphasize most strongly that the hospitals working with HCWH are breaking new ground in improving patient care.

We also wish to emphasize that products in the Philippines rarely carry labels indicating the plastic they are made of. Without this, even the most well-intentioned hospitals will struggle to make informed decisions in their purchase of medical products.

HCWH is a collaborative network whose success is dependent on the vision and efforts of partners such as the Philippine Heart Center, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center and the San Lazaro Hospital.

As such, we sincerely regret any confusion the Inquirer article may have generated.

RUTH STRINGER, international science and policy coordinator, MERCI FERRER, executive director, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia