Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc., a unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., is spending up to P1.3 billion to expand the chain of FamilyDoc clinics to a hundred facilities by 2020, a top executive said Thursday.
FamilyDoc general manager Paul Darocca said in a news briefing the company planned to bring down the cost of healthcare in as many areas as possible.
“We need partners to be able to see this program through. GE Healthcare has been providing us with the technology for less. The cost of diagnostics in our clinics is very affordable even for the low income families,” he said, during a briefing for the Hospital Management Asia Conference in Bonifacio Global City. AC Health teamed up with GE Healthcare to use the latest medical equipment in FamilyDoc clinics.
AC Healthcare currently has 11 FamilyDOC clinics located in Las Piñas, Parañaque and Cavite. Its target is to have 24 clinics by end-2017 and 100 clinics by 2020.
“AC Health recognizes the gaps in primary care in the Philippines and seeks to address the current challenges such as long wait times, and the unavailability of doctors and staff. We recognize that middle-class patients are underserved, but willing to pay for quality healthcare if it gives them good value for money. Through our FamilyDOC, 3-in-1 community-based clinics, we are committed to making quality healthcare more accessible and affordable for middle-class communities,” said Darroca.
Meanwhile, GE said the collaboration with AC Healthcare would be a key to realize the Philippine government’s initiative of widening healthcare in the country.
“We feel extremely privileged to have a partner such as AC Health, which believes in the importance of healthcare towards nation-building. By leveraging each of our strengths and experiences, I am confident we can implement solutions that address both healthcare access and affordability for Filipinos,” said GE Healthcare Asean president and chief executive Myra Eskes.
AC Health served 40,000 unique patients in nearly two years. On a daily basis, a clinic serves 15 to 20 patients.
GE Healthcare started as a technology provider to AC Health and the two companies signed a strategic partnership in August 2015.