VSMMC accepting CHAMP patients

CEBU, Philippines - Beneficiaries of the Cebu City Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program will now be accepted at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center after the Department of Health downgraded the Cebu City Medical Center to Level 1 status.

VSMMC discontinued accepting CHAMP beneficiaries since 2010 because of the city government's outstanding balance of P3 million.

"Cebu City patients' admission to Vicente Sotto has been suspended due to some bureaucratic problem," said Acting Mayor Edgardo Labella.

 Labella said the hospital management decided yesterday to once again accept CHAMP beneficiaries.

"We will again restore admitting our patients to Sotto because our main concern is the health care of our people," Labella said.

The CHAMP guidelines only allow the city government to shoulder a maximum of P25,000 each beneficiary. The city has appropriated P100 million for CHAMP, which includes laboratory, medicine, hospitalization/billing, and burial.

Labella yesterday met with VSMMC chief Dr. Geraldo Aquino together with the accountants of both parties to discuss how to settle the payables. Labella explained that the city was not able to pay the P3 million to VSMMC because the hospital failed to submit the needed documents and attachments in the billings such as the name of the patients, medical abstract, and diagnosis.

Labella said these documents are required by the Commission on Audit.

The amount was the medical expenses of CCMC's patients referred to VSMMC because the city-run hospital doesn't have yet a computerized tomography (CT) scan.

"We are willing to pay the outstanding balance because the city has money. However, there was no proper documentation from the hospital the reason why we can't release the money yet. They have the billing but they don't have the attachments," Labella said.

The DOH recently downgraded CCMC's status to Level 1 facility from being a Level 2 hospital because the space it is currently occupying, the regional office of the Bureau of Fire Protection, is 'not ideal' facility for a hospital.

The downgrading means that CCMC is no longer allowed to perform major surgeries.

CCMC's operations were transferred to BFP after the old building was declared unfit for occupancy following last year's powerful earthquake.  Since CCMC can no longer perform "serious medical surgeries", Labella said city's patients have to be referred to VSMMC, Chong Hua, Sacred Heart Hospital, Saint Vincent General Hospital and Miller Hospital.

Logical

Labella described the downgrading of CCMC status to be "logical, normal and natural to happen," considering its current state.

 "In the case of CCMC it's natural nga ari lang pud ta sa Level 1. There's nothing to be worried about because it's a logical thing since we are still on the process of constructing our new facility," he added. Labella clarified that CCMC despite being downgraded can still perform minor surgeries.

He assured that as soon as the CCMC is able to comply the services required of a Level 2 hospital, the city will immediately ask the DOH to conduct the re-evaluation.

"If we feel we can already comply with the Level 2 status then we ask the DOH through its Bureau Hospital Accreditation Facilities Division for us to make a proper request to re-evaluate so that we will evolve into Level 2 immediately and thereafter Level 3," Labella said.

A Level 2 facility is required to have Pediatrics (with subsections namely Pulmonology, Cardiology, Developmental Pediatrics, Neurology, Nephrology, Opthalmology, Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, Hematology, Endocrinology, Oncology), Internal Medicine (with subsections similar to pedia), Surgery (Orthopaedics, pediatric surgery, thoracovascular, urology, etc.) OB-Gyne (with subsections namely OB endo, OB onco, Gyne endo, gyne onco, etc), obstetrician and genecology.

  A Level 3 which is more advanced has all the basic departments and sub-departments. — /FPL (FREEMAN)