ONE of the most advanced heart centers, run by the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), will soon be open to the public by the third quarter of this year, Dr. Roy Sasil, head of non-invasive cardiology at NMMC, said.
The Northern Mindanao Heart Center, which will be located at the newest building, fronting Gaisano City Mall in Cagayan de Oro City, according to Sasil, will be the first ever heart center in Northern Mindanao.
He added that the hospital has a cardiac dedicated nuclear scan, which is a first in the Philippines, and can only be found in Cagayan de Oro City.
“We already have conducted heart operations to more than 50 patients since 2013 who underwent bypass here in Cagayan de Oro. Current monthly status is that we have two operations but hopefully if the heart center opens by second or third quarter this year, we can accommodate more,” Sasil said.
The Heart Center, the doctor further said, will have an MRI 1.5 tesla, capable for cardiac, advanced facilities for 2D echo for non-invasive imaging which is already available at the NMMC.
The hospital also has the Cath Lab 4 with Angiogram, as such those who will need bypass will no longer have the need to go to Manila for the procedure as it’s already available in NMMC, according to Sasil.
Despite the reported measles outbreaks in the country, heart disease is still the number one killer not just in the Philippines but also the world, Sasil said.
As such, the Department of Health (DOH) started a new program called Z benefit.
According to Sasil, in the new program, patients who are senior citizens and those in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) that the social service identified as belonging in the class D or those who cannot pay for the bypass surgery will have no need to pay for the procedure.
"The procedure actually sa private will cost us around P1.2 to P1.4 million but in other centers like Filipino Heart Center, its usually around P750,000," Sasil said.
Through the Z Benefit program, in government or DOH retained hospitals, the Philhealth will shoulder the P550,000 while the patient will pay around P100,000.
"If ang pasyente naay senior citizen, 4Ps, kung nakita sa social service class D ang patient, wala gyuy ikabayad, then definitely walay bayaran ang atoang pasyente," Sasil said.
"Katong P100,000 na possibleng mabayran is because naa syay capability nga mobayad. So, i-assess na karon sa DSWD, depende sa income na madawat kada bulan. Kung dako-dako ang madawat, then definitely, dako-dako pud ang mabayaran," he added.
Sasil said they are hoping to be able to conduct operations at least every other week for one month.