Novartis Healthcare to offer kidney transplant package to PhilHealth members

Novartis Healthcare Philippines has teamed up with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) to provide qualified PhilHealth members at NKTI who need kidney transplants with access to evidence-based treatment protocols and high-quality anti-organ rejection medicines. According to NHP business franchise head for integrated hospital care Stephanie Franco, Novartis will support the PhilHealth Z benefit package for "catastrophic illnesses," which addresses the needs of poor PhilHealth members. Under the agreement, NKTI will offer qualified patients the Novartis Kidney Transplant Package, which uses quality kidney transplantation medicines and is proven to provide long-term patient benefits. These benefits include improved patient and donor kidney survival, strict adherence to evidence-based treatment protocols, patient monitoring through registries, reduced hospitalization costs, and enhanced access to medicines for transplant patients. According to the NKTI, about 10,000 Filipinos develop kidney failure annually, needing dialysis for life or a kidney transplant. — BM, GMA News