AID TO INDIGENTS. Representatives of the Department of Health (DOH) in Davao Region, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and Brokenshire Medical Center signed an agreement Wednesday (Sept. 20, 2023) in Davao City for the Medical Assistance for Indigents and Persons-in-Crisis (MAIP) program. The DOH program intends to provide medical assistance to patients seeking consultation, rehabilitation, or examination in government hospitals but has been expanded to private health facilities. (PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.)
DAVAO CITY – The Department of Health in Davao Region (DOH-11), Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), and the private-owned Brokenshire Medical Center (BMC) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Wednesday to expand the Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP) program to private hospitals.
MAIP aims to provide medical assistance to patients seeking consultation, rehabilitation, examination or otherwise confined in government hospitals.
In an interview, BMC chief executive officer Ronald Manuel Santos said they are committed to the efforts of the government in helping low-income patients.
MAIP beneficiaries include indigents and other financially incapacitated patients who demonstrate a clear inability to pay or spend for necessary expenditures for one’s medical treatment.
The target patients include those with catastrophic illnesses that require prolonged hospitalization, and extremely expensive therapies or other special but essential care that would deplete one’s financial resources.
“It (cases of patients) will be assessed and certified by the medical social worker and screened by SPMC,” Santos said.
Dr. Ricardo Audan, SPMC chief, described the burden of health care expenses as "very overwhelming, with families and individuals struggling to get the best possible health care available."
“Through this initiative, we aim to bridge the gap and ensure that those who are most vulnerable can still receive the immediate care they need,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Annabel Yumang, DOH-11 regional director, said MAIP would directly help needy patients as they partnered with more hospitals to decongest SPMC.
“We are now partners. Not only the public hospitals will take care of our patients but also our private hospitals,” Yumang said.
Last month, DOH-11 and five private hospitals in Davao del Norte also signed a MOA for MAIP in their respective hospices.
The private hospitals included the Christ The King Specialists Hospital of Tagum City, the Medical Mission Hospital, and the Panabo City-based Rivera Medical Center Inc., Good Shepherd Hospital, and Polymedic Hospital.
Each private hospital was given a PHP3 million MAIP budget for this year. (PNA)
