"Medicine is for the people"

(First of two-part series)

"We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits.

Spoken fifty years ago, these words from George W. Merck, founder and former chairman of global research-based pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., Inc. expressed the core value of this highly successful company.

Merck has grown because of its expertise in discovering, developing, manufacturing and marketing breakthrough medicines. But its mission to help improve global health cannot be fully accomplished unless it has done all it can to make sure that people who need their breakthrough medicines have access to them - from seniors without prescription coverage in the United States to children with HIV in Africa.

In the Philippines, Merck operates through its branch Merck Sharp & Dohme Philippines (MSD) and has been helping to improve the health and well-being of Filipinos by providing Filipino patients with breakthrough medicines.

MSD Philippines has introduced several important medicines over the past years, representing major advances in the treatment of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and acute pain, chronic asthma, elevated cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, heart failure, osteoporosis, benign prostate enlargement, male pattern hair loss, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, and vaccines to prevent hepatitis A & B; measles, mumps and rubella; pneumococcal disease; haemophilus influenzae type b disease; and chickenpox; among others.

But more than these life-saving medicines, MSD Philippines has put equal emphasis on the delivery of disease information, innovative services and health management programs as part of its commitment to help improve the quality of healthcare in the country. Since 1995, MSD Philippines has been at the forefront of the delivery of these healthcare services.

Given the alarming incidence of coronary heart disease, the Philippines’ number one killer disease, MSD Philippines launched the HEARTCAREÒ PROGRAM in 1996. Realizing the magnitude of the problem, both MSD and the Philippine Heart Association (PHA), through its Council on Preventive Cardiology, mutually agreed on a partnership with the goals of providing general practitioners with updates on the management of coronary heart disease and hypertension, in an effort to help reduce its morbidity and mortality. MSD realizes that only in partnership with the medical community could the problem of coronary heart disease be contained.

The program began as a simple cholesterol screening procedure in 1996 but has since evolved into a disease management program tailored for general practitioners and family physicians. The HEARTCAREÒ Faculty, composed of cardiologists, conducts a one weekend training program for general practitioners on cardiovascular disease management through lectures and interactive workshops.

The participating doctors during the HEARTCAREÒ Weekend are provided with updates on current management practices for cardiovascular diseases and are introduced to the concept of evidence-based medicine and its application. The program also serves as a venue for discussing difficult cases and for enhancing confidence among doctors in managing cardiovascular problems. The HEARTCAREÒ team assists participating doctors in monitoring the treatment progress of their patients. For the patients enrolled by the participating doctors, the program provides assistance through medical evaluation and a patient follow-up program.

( To be continued )