1st Malasakit Center aims to cut processing time of medical aid
Processing of medical benefits and payments of hospital bills and medicines cannot be done by one agency alone.
Patients or their representatives, especially the indigent and marginalized, need to hop from one office to the next to process the bills they would have to pay.
To aid patients seeking assistance for their health care needs, the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, together with the Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), initiated the development of the Malasakit Center.
The Malasakit Center, located inside DOH-retained hospitals, is a one-stop-shop for offices of the provider agencies, making it easier to access medical assistance. Requirements for the agencies in processing applications for this program still follow the same procedures as before but the agencies are already housed in one location, making it more accessible to patients.
Utilization for government funds appropriated for purposes of healthcare assistance is maximized, procedures for application of services are simplified, and a single standard form is implemented to eliminate repetitive interviews of the patients.
The hospitals can also accommodate more patients with hospital congestion being minimized since patients who can be released from admission can process payment of their bills at a faster pace with the assistance from the center.
The first Malasakit Center at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, whose construction was funded by the Sacred Heart School for Boys Batch 1985 Foundation Inc., was launched in the presence of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte last Feb. 12, 2018 and it was also graced by the Binibining Cebu titleholders and finalists.
Other sites will soon open in various hospitals in Cebu and Bohol with the goal of opening a center in all DOH-retained hospitals in the Visayas by the end of 2018.
For more updates on the charitable works of the SHS-B Batch 1985 and Binibining Cebu, follow them on Facebook at fb.com/binibiningcebu or on Instagram @binibiningcebu.
For inquiries or donation, contact 0917-555-5348 or email at binibiningcebu@gmail.com.