Ayala lines up more community clinics

MANILA, Philippines - Conglomerate Ayala Corp. is considering putting up more community-based clinics.

In a briefing with reporters yesterday, Ayala Group head for corporate strategy and development Paolo Borromeo said it currently has two community-based clinics under FamilyDoc, which are located in Las Pinas and Imus, Cavite.

“We’re experimenting with retail clinics. We started in December,” he said.

 These so-called community-based clinics, with a size of around 100 square meters, have five people at a given time including one doctor and two nurses. There are around 50 patients per day in each clinic, which is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

With a consultation fee of P350, the clinic is equipped with an X-ray, an ultrasound as well as first-aid response equipment.

FamilyDoc is seen complementing the government-run health centers and other community-based clinics.

Depending on the success of the first two pilot clinics, Ayala may put up more of these community-based clinics, Borromeo said.

 “We don’t know yet how many but ideally, over a 100 clinics in Metro Manila,” Borromeo said.

 It was in July last year when Ayala announced entry into the healthcare business through the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in drugstore chain Generika Group.

Generika is among the pioneers in the retail distribution of quality generic medicines in the country with over 500 stores nationwide.

Established in 2003, Generika promotes the use of generic drugs amid the exorbitant prices of medicines in the country. Its first outlet opened in May 2004 in Montillano, Muntinlupa.