Responding to critical challenges in Philippine healthcare
The local healthcare industry has been facing a major obstacle, the difficulty in accessing healthcare services, which in turn raise the possibility of poor health outcomes for Filipinos. On top of this, the global health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in immense pressure on the health industry.
Established medical laboratory Singapore Diagnostics (SGD) recognized that the pandemic has impacted the healthcare field and saw that there is a considerable disparity in healthcare services in the Philippines, mainly marked by insufficient facilities, a lack of patient accessibility, and the need for skill improvement of healthcare workers.
While experiencing their own share of challenges at that same period, SGD has sought to respond to these pain points by bringing its world-class services and training closer to Filipinos.
As a subsidiary of Pathology Asia, which is recognized as one of Southeast Asia’s most prominent medical service providers, SGD has become one of the largest laboratories in the Philippines. To date, it provides laboratory tests for over 600 hospitals, clinic labs, and healthcare institutions and serves up to 50,000 patients every month, and conducts over 3.6 million laboratory examinations per year. Alongside these services, SGD is also helping develop the skills and talents of the country’s healthcare workforce by providing professional training.
The company implements the highest quality control in their laboratory work, benchmarking all test results, not just versus local quality standards, but against the best hospitals in the world
Ritche Evidente, president and CEO of Singapore Diagnostics
“At Singapore Diagnostics, we have stringent and rigorous procedures in place to ensure that we deliver the most accurate laboratory results possible. Our well-trained professionals were trained experts with experience and credentials from all over the world,” Ritche Evidente, president and CEO of Singapore Diagnostics, said.
Evidente relates that SGD has already grown from a single-site operator, to a multi-site laboratory provider with over 40 locations throughout the country. Long before the pandemic struck, SGD has been at the forefront of improving access to healthcare, improving test efficiency, and promoting continuing training for lab scientists. In recognition of this exemplary commitment to service, SGD was awarded Diagnostic Provider of the Year during the recently concluded Healthcare Asia Awards for being a healthcare organization that has “risen above the challenges and made a remarkable impact to their patients, most especially amidst the massive disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
SGD is also listed in this year’s Philippine Growth Champions by international market research firm Statista, which comprise top 25 businesses that have significantly contributed to the fast-paced growth and business climate in the Philippines.
Being the only other healthcare company included in this list, SDG has further proven that it has been doing great in the Philippine healthcare industry in the now normal.
On top of these distinctions, SGD takes pride in being the first healthcare facility in the Philippines to be accredited by the prestigious College of American Pathologists, which cited the talented and skillful Filipino clinicians it has produced as well as the top-notch medical diagnostic services it provides.
Supporting the future of Philippine healthcare
Moving forward, SGD intends to focus on delivering better healthcare access to Filipinos. Evidente shares that this year, the company aims to build more facilities in every major city in the Philippines, with the goal of employing more Filipino medical technologists and serving more patients.
Moreover, the diagnostic company wants to make sure the company is future-ready. SGD is partnering with multiple tech-enabled and app-based healthcare companies to strengthen its reputation as a “technology-inclusive laboratory”.
Currently, the company has established six laboratory hubs which are located in Makati, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Dagupan, and Angeles City, in addition to almost 40 satellite operations, and employs over 450 employees nationwide. With this, SGD envisions itself to be an established foundation for medical technologists and scientists in the Philippines, serving as a center for technical excellence and providing a positive work environment for its employees throughout the country.
Expanding its network of partner hospitals and clinics across the country is another important goal. “Singapore Diagnostics is here to help other local laboratories, not to compete with them. We want to support the Filipino community and work together to elevate the country’s healthcare situation.”
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