The Medical City receives int'l award for patient safety program

MANILA, Philippines - The Medical City’s (TMC) Pandemic Influenza A (AH1N1) Preparedness and Response Program was lauded as Most Outstanding Project under the Patient Safety and Quality Medical Care category at the 2010 Asian Hospital Management Awards, which were held during the Hospital Management Asia Conference in Seoul, South Korea.

TMC had the distinction of being the first Philippine hospital to win in this category, besting a total of 281 entries from 58 hospitals in 10 countries from the Asia-Pacific region.

In May 2009, Dr. Marie Fe Tayzon, head of TMC’s Section of Infectious Diseases and chairperson of TMC’s Hospital Infection Control Committee, partnered with TMC’s infectious diseases surveillance coordinator nurse Victoria Ching to formulate and initiate a master plan for dealing with the AH1N1 pandemic, which had just reached Philippine shores.

Two key tasks were at hand — alerting the public on the impending outbreak, and preparing TMC to respond safely and effectively to the AH1N1 cases that would arise from it.

A Pandemic Preparedness Task Force was organized to draft and implement policies and protocols for handling AH1N1 cases in TMC; coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH), local government units, and non-government agencies in managing the outbreak; and educate the internal and external communities on disease prevention and treatment.

Special facilities were established, including a Fever Clinic to isolate patients under observation, and a Communications Center to release diagnostic results, provide home care instructions, and respond to all public inquiries. TMC’s laboratory also became the first private center in the country to be accredited by the DOH for AH1N1 testing.

“TMC’s proactive approach to facing the threat of AH1N1 resulted in significantly better patient outcomes,” said Tayzon. “Case fatality rate was limited to 0.63 percent, besting the global rate of 4-7 percent. In addition, only 1.35 percent of TMC health workers were affected by the disease, substantially below international averages of 25-38 percent.”    

“We are, first and foremost, committed to providing leadership anchored on quality and safety in patient care, and we can only do so when TMC’s departments and cross-functional teams work together seamlessly in addressing both administrative and medical concerns,” said TMC president and CEO Dr. Alfredo R.A. Bengzon.

“Indeed, TMC’s thrust for true partnership is not only manifested between our patients and doctors, but is also practiced among all members of the TMC community, and between the TMC community and the broader Filipino public,” Bengzon said.

“We are especially proud of this award because this is the first time that a Philippine hospital has been so honored, and serves to us as further validation that, indeed, the Philippines in general, and The Medical City in particular, can hold its head high in the global arena of health and health care,” added Bengzon.