THE Medical City (TMC), a healthcare network with a flagship complex in Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, is set to launch a remote care center as well as a center for diagnostic medicine in October. It has also launched its participatory medicine campaign on Oct. 14.
“Part of our quest to deliver the best of healthcare to our patients is to develop more groundbreaking services and programs,” said Dr. Christian G. Delos Reyes, TMC’s chief marketing officer, in an Oct. 17 Zoom call. “It’s not just about buying the most advanced technology. It’s creating programs that would address a certain population of patients who need that specific type of program.”
TMC will be launching a center for diagnostic medicine next week, Dr. Delos Reyes said. Gathering specialists from multiple fields, the center will be a hub for those who wish to seek a second opinion or want their cases re-analyzed.
“We want to position ourselves as the hospital that can diagnose the hard-to-diagnose diseases,” he said.
Another upcoming development in the coming week is the healthcare network’s remote care center, which targets to provide hospital care from a patient’s home.
“It goes beyond X-rays at home or mobile clinics,” Dr. Delos Reyes told BusinessWorld. “For patients who want to stay at home and be treated at home, [this] will now be a reality… the future of healthcare is coming home.”
The 24-hour service features a command center where patients are monitored online by healthcare staff, and includes thrice a day tele-rounds (doctors’ virtual rounds). Each patient’s bedroom at home will likewise be outfitted with cameras as well as gadgets that monitor vital signs, which inputs will be relayed back to the command center in real-time. Field nurses and doctors will further be deployed on occasion to check on the patient’s condition, as well as deal with any intravenous (IV) fluid bags, catheters, and the like.
By treating patients with illnesses such as pneumonia and dehydration at home, Dr. Delos Reyes added, TMC’s hospitals will be freed up to treat more of those who need critical care.
The healthcare network also launched on Oct. 14 “In Health and In Sickness,” a campaign that puts patients at the center of healthcare, and recognizes them as partners of their own health.
TMC puts “a lot of premium” on participatory medicine, according to Lawrence Y. Sibayan, marketing and business development division head of TMC. “It’s not just doctors telling, but patients also sharing what they want to do.”
“You have to know where the patient comes from [to] engage them in active participation,” Mr. Sibayan said in the same Zoom call.
Dr. Delos Reyes added that practicing certain methodologies and acquiring certain technologies — such as in the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses who practice bloodless medicine — are examples of how hospitals can listen to and respect patients’ values.
The videos in the “In Health and In Sickness” campaign highlights “not just the patient, but the culture of [collaborative] healthcare we have here, and the nurses and doctors who are part of our success story,” he said. “It’s a celebration of that relationship.” — Patricia B. Mirasol
