Friday, September 05, 2008 Hospital seeks local partners
A REPRESENTATIVE of a Singapore-based hospital said there is a substantial number of Filipinos who have availed themselves of its services through a referral-scheme available to patients in the country.
Kelly Low, country manager for Parkway Health’s Manila office, said through his office, Filipino doctors can make referrals for patients whose medical conditions need to be treated with the use of advanced technology that is not yet available in the Philippines.
Parkway Health is a member of the Parkway Group Healthcare Pte. Ltd. which owns three hospitals in Singapore—East Shore, Gleneagles and Mount Elizabeth.
A Singaporean doctor is also scheduled to visit Cebu on Sept. 19 to give a lecture to local doctors on stem cell transplant.
Dr. Anselm Lee is a consultant for pediatric hematology and oncology and was the first to perform an umbilical cord blood transplantation in Hong Kong.
The seminar is going to be held at the Chong Hua Hospital where 60 to 80 Cebu-based doctors are expected to attend.
“We are coming over to advise the (Cebuano) doctors about the stem cell operation” he told Sun.Star Cebu in an interview last Wednesday.
Although the stem cell transplant operation is quite controversial because it is associated with human cloning, Low said the procedure is already widely accepted.
“Especially those people who know well about the procedure,” he added.
Low also admitted that stem cell surgeries are expensive but it is twice more expensive when the surgery is done in the United States.
Low is also looking at the possibility of having partnerships with hospitals in Cebu.
He said doctors here can make a recommendation or refer a patient for the second opinion of doctors in Parkway Health.
Should a patient decide to undergo an operation in Singapore, especially those diagnosed with cancer, Parkway Health may be able to assist the patient in applying for a special visa. (DME)
