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Case study:

A healthcare ecosystem that stretches across the Philippines

AC Health is making the most of government and clinical partnerships to improve care across the Philippines

Case study:

A healthcare ecosystem that stretches across the Philippines

AC Health is making the most of government and clinical partnerships to improve care across the Philippines

In many emerging economies, innovative new approaches are increasing access to healthcare. In the Philippines, AC Health is helping to expand access through digitally enabled services and a strategy based on developing an ecosystem of partners across the healthcare continuum.

The Philippines has significant healthcare challenges

Paolo Borromeo, AC Health’s President and Chief Executive Officer, explains that the Philippines faces the same healthcare challenges as many emerging economies. “The fundamental challenges revolve around basic accessibility, affordability and quality of care,” he says. Access to services is uneven across the archipelago, the costs of treatment are a barrier to many, public hospital capacity is limited and there are shortages of healthcare professionals.

Despite reductions over the past decade, out-of-pocket expenditure still accounted for almost 49% of total health expenditure in 2019. Less than 10% of Filipinos have private health insurance, says Borromeo.

Efforts to remedy these issues are hampered by an underlying challenge. “The healthcare industry itself is largely fragmented – there’s a lack of integration and interoperability of data, systems and networks,” explains Borromeo. “There are so many challenges in terms of coordination and alignment of the different stakeholders.”

The answer? Partnerships that proved themselves during the pandemic

That is why AC Health’s strategy is based on an ecosystem that is tied together by technology and supported by partnerships with like-minded organisations. “Our belief is that the ecosystem enables synergies that are beneficial to patients,” says Borromeo.

He raises the Covid-19 pandemic, and how it spurred close partnerships between government and industry partners. “It showed us the strength of the ecosystem,” says Borromeo. AC Health, for instance, used its clinical and hospital workforces to establish 30 vaccination sites around the Philippines. The business has also partnered with MSD Philippines to create a pneumococcal vaccine programme, engaging with corporate partners to promote uptake of the vaccines.

These initiatives show how important it is to engage and inform the public, says Borromeo, and he emphasises the particular importance of social media in the Philippines. “We will continue to use these platforms strategically to help educate and spread awareness on public health,” he says. Approaches developed by AC Health during the pandemic, such as webinars that address common questions, are now being applied to other therapeutic areas including diabetes.

Ecosystems enable groundbreaking cancer care

Partnerships have also been essential to the development of a new dedicated 100-bed cancer hospital, the Healthway Cancer Care Hospital in Metro Manila. Set to open in mid-2023, it is the first of its kind in the country, according to Borromeo.

As a result, the new hospital has a clear focus on partnerships that enable high-value interventions and reduce costs. Screening, for instance, will be done through the firm’s network of primary care facilities, with patients referred to hospital specialists as needed.

“We’ve partnered with leading service providers and experts from around the world,” he explains. About 100,000 Filipinos are diagnosed with cancer every year, and AC Health estimates that another 100,000 go undiagnosed annually. Of those who are discovered to have a cancer, more than half go untreated – often, because of the costs.

Remote possibilities

Digital services, meanwhile, will complement in-person treatments and check-ups. Online appointments can reduce pressure on resources, helping patients access care faster, so that disease can be identified and treated sooner – more effectively, and at a lower cost. “There is a unique opportunity here to create an omnichannel approach where digital platforms complement brick-and-mortar assets,” says Borromeo.

He is optimistic about both AC Health’s growth and the future of healthcare in the Philippines as a whole. “We will continue to work with compatible partners both in the public sector and the private sector to innovate and find creative new solutions, new systems, new formats and new models – all with the end goal of improving healthcare for all Filipinos.”