MANILA, Philippines - It started with a small group of doctors who dreamt of bringing world-class healthcare services to Filipinos. On May 31, 1969, Makati Medical Center (MMC) first opened its doors. Forty-four years later, MMC is still going strong, reaping rewards from its investments in new medical equipment and upgraded facilities, translating this to improved processes, modern treatment options and better services for its patients.
On its 44th year, MMC highlights its accomplishments and achievements that make its services truly world-class.
Patients first
In an effort to improve hospital efficiency and ensure patient care, MMC entered into an agreement with leading information technology company Indra in 2011 to develop an integrated system that will replace its 15-year-old Magic (outpatient) and Harmony (inpatient) systems.
MMC also rolled out the first phase of iHIMS (Integrated Hospital Information Management System) recently in its selected outpatient units. iHIMS is an integrated system that the hospital uses to handle outpatient and inpatient transactions for a single hospital-wide integrated patient information management system. With iHIMS, MMC promises operational efficiency benefits to its patients, including centralized patient registration that eliminates the need for patients to accomplish detailed forms for every diagnostic test availed; elimination of unnecessary duplications and other errors in the preparation of patient data and various patient-related reports; single point of access to laboratory and radiology results; integration of billing, resulting in ease in managing payments and collections transactions; and reducing patients’ waiting time prior to discharge.
‘Going green’
Staying true to its “going green†efforts that involve finding alternative and earth-friendly sources of energy, MMC has installed a Solar PV (Photovoltaic) Generator System that can knock off an estimated 30,000 kilos of annual carbon monoxide emission — the equivalent of 933 planted trees, or 217 smoke-belching vehicles removed from the streets.
The installation, composed of 151 monocrystalline modules with a 25-year lifespan, is located on the rooftop of the 10th floor of Tower 1 of the hospital. It is the first installation in the country to use Solar DC Optimizers, which enhance the systems even with shadows.
Seeking excellence
In September 2012, MMC received an Excellence Award from the 11th Asian Hospital Management Awards (AHMA). The award was for the “Improvement of Makati Medical Center Tower 1 Air-conditioning Efficiency.†MMC also received an Award of Merit at the Galing Likha-Kalusugan Awards for its Strategic Hospital Alliance Program (SHAP), which was named among the 10 best health system innovations in the Philippines. The award was given by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies in partnership with the Center for Health Market Innovation.
Medical missions
MMC physicians and medical staff took part in various medical missions in Metro Manila and nearby provinces in 2012. Led by the Health Service Department, the medical missions helped more than 19,000 patients, who received medical, dental and surgical services.
After the torrential rains brought by the southwest monsoon (habagat) that caused flooding in the metro and surrounding provinces in early August 2012, MMC spearheaded medical missions to help the victims of the monster monsoon. MMC Foundation executive director Marge Macasaet-Barro and program officer Karen Torres spearheaded the missions and worked together with the MMC volunteer doctors, the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS), volunteers and alumni of MMC’s College of Nursing and Rizal Medical Center.
In December 2012, MMC also launched a medical mission to extend help to the victims of typhoon Pablo in Compostela Valley. The special mission was spearheaded by the MMC Foundation, in partnership with Davao Doctors Hospital and the Philippine National Red Cross, and supported by the TV5-Tulong Kapatid network, PLDT-Smart Foundation and the AFP-CRS.
Other medical missions took place in Pasig City, Rizal province and Quezon City.