Despite making great strides in the medical field, access to quality, yet affordable healthcare in the Philippines remains a contentious issue. While there are a number of hospitals and clinics widely available especially in the urban areas, not all services are within the means of Filipinos.
Recognizing this, Aster Medical and Diagnostic Clinic is expanding its reach by extending its operation to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The clinic is owned by Aster DM Healthcare, one of the fastest growing private sector healthcare providers in the Gulf Region, Middle East and India.
"Ensuring high quality healthcare has always been at the forefront of our group's objectives. Expanding the hours of our first clinic in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia will allow us to provide Filipinos with the quality medical services that they need, when they need it," President & Country Manager Joyce Alumno said.
Aster Medical and Diagnostic Clinic is strategically located at St. Francis Square in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, right at the heart of the Ortigas Central Business District, amid the BPO hub. While the clinic just opened on November 2015, it is already building a strong relationship and partnership with the BPO community it serves.
The clinic is owned by Aster DM Healthcare, one of the fastest growing private sector healthcare providers in the Middle East and India. Founded in 1987, Aster DM Healthcare, the Dubai-headquartered healthcare conglomerate now operates a network of more than 290 establishments covering an array of healthcare verticals - from hospitals, medical centers, pharmacies, diagnostics and specialty centers, healthcare consultancy service, academics & research to a medical college and an advanced medical city.
Recently, Aster DM Healthcare decided to expand its global footprint by entering Southeast Asia by marking the Philippines as its first location. "We chose Philippines as our entry point in Southeast Asia because there are similarities in healthcare issues between the two countries," Dr. Azad Moopen, founder of Aster DM Healthcare and DM Foundation said. "From the disparity in quality healthcare due to poverty to population surge and even brain drain in the medical field, we have been faced with the same medical gaps that need to be resolved."
The Dubai-based conglomerate seeks to lend its time-tested and world-class experience a cross the country's healthcare industry, including its services, practices, and technology that are all at par with global standards.
Aster Medical and Diagnostic Clinics aims to cater to the mid-segment of the population, mostly composed of employees who have some form of HMO coverage. Dr. Moopen says that in the UAE, Aster DM Healtcare provides services to a wide spectrum of markets, which they hope to eventually replicate in the Philippines. "For the past 28 years, we have been setting up clinics and hospitals across the GCC region, Middle East, and India, and we are hoping to do the same in the Philippines," states Dr. Moopen.
While the clinic is Aster DM Healthcare's first business venture in the Philippines, the conglomerate has been familiar with the country since 2013. For the last three years, the conglomerate's charity arm, the Dr. Moopen (DM) Foundation, has been operating the Save the little Hearts program, which grants free heart surgeries for children born with congenital heart defects.
The group also recently launched Dr. Aster Mobile, a mini-hospital on wheels that travels accross the country to offer free primary medical care, wherever it is needed, and will also be used for industrial check-ups. It is built with all the facilities needed to provide diagnostic, laboratory, x-Ray, medical check-ups, specialists' consultation, and first aid treatment. The mobile clinic is also fully staffed by a doctor, nurse, radiographer and medical technologist, who are all ready to use their expertise to offer healthcare services.
In addition to elevating the quality of healthcare in the Philiipines, Aster DM Healthcare seeks to provide more employment opportunities for Filipino healthcare professionals. Currently, there are about 2,000 Filipinos in their network, which the group sees to grow significantly in the next coming years.
With its first clinic in the Philippines, Aster DM Healthcare hopes to become the preferred healthcare provider in the hearts and minds of the Filipinos.
For more information about Aster DM Healthcare and DM Foundation, visit www.asterdmhealthcare.com and www.drmoopensfoundation.org, respectively.
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