The doctor is in

You notice it immediately. On the drive from the Iloilo International Airport to  the city proper, you see cranes and other construction  machinery as well as road widening activities all along the way. Traditionally known for its rich culture and old-world charm, with its well-preserved heritage houses and centuries-old churches, Iloilo is fast emerging as the newest destination not only for tourism but also for business and investments.

Developing in Mandurriao, one of Iloilo City’s seven districts — bound by Molo to its south and La Paz to its north — is the city’s new business district, with commercial establishments and complexes rising, contributing to the city’s accelerated economic growth. Situated here is Ayala Land’s Atria Park District, a master planned, mixed-use community that integrates residential, retail and business clusters as well as educational and health care institutions. With an initial land area of around 21 hectares and an estimated cost of over P15 billion, the project represents Ayala Land’s largest investment in the region.

Recently, the first QualiMed Hospital opened at Ayala’s Atria Park District. A nationwide network of healthcare facilities owned and operated by the Mercado General Hospital Inc. (MGHI) in partnership with Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), QualiMed is well-known  for its mall-based multispecialty clinics located at Ayala malls in the country. Other types of facilities in the network include ambulatory or day surgery centres as well as specialty to full-service hospitals.

“It is our passion to serve the Filipino,” says Dr. Edwin Mercado, QuliMed president and CEO.  “It is our long-term commitment to provide quality medical service with world-class facilities and affordable pricing.” 

We had a chance to see this for ourselves as we were given a tour of the impressive four-storey QualiMed Hospital in  Iloilo on opening day. We saw state-of-the-art medical equipment such as the 1.5 Testa MRI and MRI-compatible anaesthesia machine as well as a fully digital lab service and computerized data system. The centralized information system makes it possible for electronic medical records (EMR) and X-ray and lab results to be accessed through a single process, which makes for the efficient and convenient retrieval and sharing of patients’ information.

An important asset at QualiMed Hospital is its roster of specialty and sub-specialty doctors who subscribe to the group practice model, which has been proven to be successful in the US. The doctors, each of whom may have different specialties, work together as a group and share facilities and expertise, staff and equipment, consulting rooms and overhead costs. This practice of maximizing the use of space and resources ultimately benefits the patient.

Operational efficiency, such as centralized procurement and consolidated volume purchases resulting in economies of scale, is another important factor in lowering the price of services.“QualiMed rates are 30% lower than the highest prices on the market,” says Dr. Henry Tupas, QualiMed-Iloilo president and COO.

Dr. Tupas, together with Dr. Ramon Cejar, Jr., QualiMed Hospital’s medical director, belongs to a group of local doctors who first conceived of putting up a new healthcare facility in Iloilo City.  A study that showed the existing hospital bed to population ratio indicated  a pressing need.  While Iloilo has the highest number of board certified doctors outside Manila, hospital management is still largely conservative, Dr.Tupas, an orthopaedic surgeon, says. “We need to bring in evidence-based technology, to improve the practice of doctors and to improve healthcare service.”

“Patients from Iloilo would sometimes have to go to Manila or Cebu for treatment,” Dr. Tupas, who is himself an Ilonggo, shared. With the opening of QualiMed Hospital, the movement may be reversed, with patients from other parts of the region and the country, or even from overseas, coming to Iloilo for treatment.

The hospital’s first phase focuses on its specialty Women’s and Children’s Centre,  which is envisioned to become the regional center for women’s health, obstetrical-gynecological, and pediatric services in Western Visayas. It offers world-class amenities such as the birthing suites and nursery as well as diagnostic services such as breast ultrasound and digital mammogram, among others. With a full-time staff of 80 members, the hospital will initially operate with 40 beds, to be expanded eventually to 150 beds.

The QualiMed Surgery Center offers outpatient and minimally invasive surgical procedures such as laparoscopy, arthroscopy as well as endoscopy. These services don’t need admission and thus save the patient from paying room fees and other related charges. “The ambulatory or day surgery center is capable of performing same-day surgeries,” Dr. Tupas explains. “With the advent of minimally invasive surgeries, surgical incisions have become smaller, resulting in faster patient recovery.” 

The Ayala-Mercado partnership plans to develop 10 new hospitals in the next five

years, with four more QualiMed hospitals planned to be opened within the next two years.

“These new facilities will be established in Ayala Land’s mixed-use developments, making them more accessible for all,”   Mercado says. “We are learning from our partner’s best corporate practices. We share the same value system.”

As the largest property developer in the country, Ayala Land develops and operates prime commercial, residential and leisure spaces within strategic growth centers, consequently promoting economic activity in those areas. The Atria Park District brings Ayala Land’s “live-work-play environment” to Iloilo. It includes a residential component, the Avida Towers Atria and Avida Storeys Atria as well as Seda Hotel Atria, the first Seda Hotel in the region.

It is immediately accessible to the BPO offices of the Iloilo-Ayala Land TechnoHub; schools such as Ateneo de Iloilo; and Smallville, the popular entertainment strip, as well as the new Riverside Boardwalk and Esplanade.

Ayala Land’s  partnership with the Batangas-based Mercado medical group adds the healthcare component that completes its total package offering of vibrant mixed-used communities. “Whatever we do,” Ayala Land director Antonio Aquino remarks, “we are committed to improving the life of the Filipino.”