Innovative healthcare service within reach

Humanity must have healthcare within reach no matter what. Around the Philippines, the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) ensures that such services can be found by Filipinos through Metro Pacific Health (MPH) and mWell.

Being the largest group of private hospitals and healthcare facilities in the country, MPH demonstrates “medical excellence” and “compassionate care” to people across its 21 hospitals, 24 outpatient care centers, six cancer care centers, and a central clinical laboratory. Also part of the group are two allied health colleges.

MPH, then known as Metro Pacific Hospitals, made its first investment in 2007 with the Makati Medical Center. Its network of hospitals expanded over the years and has recently added in Medical Center Imus in Cavite earlier this month.

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Makati Medical Center — Online Health Library - Makati Medical Center

Cardinal Santos Medical Center — facebook.com/CardinalSantos

Asian Hospital and Medical Center — asianhospital.com

Some of the hospitals under MPH are the Asian Hospital and Medical Center and Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Metro Manila; Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital; Riverside Medical Center in Visayas; and Davao Doctors Hospital in Mindanao.

Last October, MPH took its current name, Metro Pacific Health, together with a new logo and a new promise of being “the heart of Filipino healthcare.”

“I have high hopes for Metro Pacific Health, and I commit to firmly supporting the management teams and employees behind the organization. Together, we will achieve our vision of making Metro Pacific Health the leading and most valued integrated healthcare network in the Philippines, and one of Asia’s most innovative and trusted healthcare providers,” MPH Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said during the brand equity launch of the new MPH.

With this enhanced identity, MPH targets to double its reach to having 40 hospitals in its network by 2030.

While MPH makes certain that its healthcare services are present across the country, it also ensures that it provides superior, patient-centric care by continuously improving and innovating.

MPH said that it has started its hospitals’ development to be “smart” healthcare providers. Its hospitals would be automating documentation to help nurses lessen their workloads as well as have seamless data monitoring throughout the patient journey.

“As the heart of Filipino healthcare, MPH is upgrading its health infrastructure, procuring new equipment, enhancing its technological capabilities, and expanding its product and service offerings. These changes enable innovations like remote patient monitoring, electronic health recording, hospital-at-home programs, and other future-forward platforms and services,” MPIC stated in its report for 2022.

MPH went along with the rise of digital transformation in healthcare by introducing virtual consultations and remote patient monitoring solutions among its services, with the help of its partnerships with startups.

To improve its hospital information systems as well as the employee and customer experience, the group is investing in new virtual care platforms as well. The objective for the upgrade of such hospital information systems is to develop an integrated platform that enables the group to “digitally search for and schedule appointments, virtually triage symptoms, navigate to the right site of care, and access electronic medical records across the entire network,” MPH CEO Dr. Harish Pillai said in the report.

More innovations underway for MPH are remote diagnostics in a home-care setting and voice-enabled AI (artificial intelligence) assistants in non-clinical support services.

Apart from the innovations that MPH invested in, MPIC further harnesses technology to serve Filipinos with their healthcare needs through mWell, a fully-integrated digital platform that offers consultations, wellness programs, insurance plans, and more. This health platform is developed by Metro Pacific Health Tech Corp. (MPHTC).

MPIC Chief Finance, Risk and Sustainability Officer and mWell CEO Chaye Cabal-Revilla during the signing ceremony with MPH Chief Executive Officer Dr. Harish Pillai and MPH Chief Transformation Officer Celso Bernard G. Lopez — Photo from Metro Pacific Health

According to mWell, its fully integrated health ecosystem provides access to over 500 family doctors, specialists, and mind health experts. In addition to 24/7 consultation, mWell offers fitness and nutrition programs designed by experts. Other features of the platform is the mWellness Score, a digital tracker that measures physical health, step count and sleep daily; as well as access to insurance products, home care, medicine delivery, and emergency service.

As MPH shared in a statement earlier in January, the agreement will allow MPHTC and MPH to align their efforts in engaging with patients and doctors to get them onboard the Metro Pacific Group’s healthcare ecosystem.

To further deliver the best possible healthcare services to their market, MPH and MPHTC have agreed to collaborate in the areas of integration of services, branding and marketing partnership, and the streamlining of resources and services “to make the healthcare-related services of MPH and MPHTC available to as many Filipinos as possible.”

One of the target outcomes of this partnership is the mWell MPH platform, where patients can access the outpatient services of MPH’s nationwide network of 19 hospitals, 22 outpatient care centers, and its roster of thousands of doctors accredited within the MPH network.

Mr. Pangilinan noted that with mWell the traditional health services of MPH will be more accessible and, as a result, the healthcare system of the country can better respond to Filipinos’ needs.

“Our mission is to create a truly responsive healthcare system for the Filipino. We should allow more permanent access to medical services and the answer is technology. This partnership complements the health service that is delivered traditionally through our hospital network, facilitated by the reach and equity of the mWell brand. Our digital infrastructure transcends the geographic limitations of traditional delivery platforms,” he said.

“At the forefront of digital healthcare, mWell in partnership with Metro Pacific Health, will utilize the power of the mWell and mWell MPH platforms to provide better healthcare for more Filipinos. This is our shared north star,” added MPIC Chief Finance, Risk and Sustainability Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla.

This year, mWell was recognized as the Best Mobile Innovation for Digital Life in the Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO) in Barcelona, Spain. For MPIC, mWell’s award highlights the conglomerate’s determination towards becoming “the largest catalyst for a Sustainable Philippines.”

mWell supports in attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, which aims for Good Health and Well-Being for all. It is also in line with SDG 9, which seeks to foster innovation, as well as develop resilient infrastructure and promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization. — Chelsey Keith P. Ignacio