Makati health center named primary healthcare facility

A health center in Makati City has been recognized as a primary care facility by the Department of Health (DOH), Mayor Abby Binay said Friday.

According to Binay, the DOH issued Palanan Health Center in Barangay Palanan the license to operate as a primary healthcare facility after passing the standards set under the Universal Health Care Act (UHC). It is now the first 24/7 health center in Metro Manila to obtain such a license.

“Primary care facilities are essential, particularly in times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, because these centers provide the most inclusive, accessible, affordable, and efficient approach to enhancing people’s health,” the mayor said.

“Palanan 24/7 will serve as the model for other barangay health centers in Makati to make health services more accessible to Makatizens. We are planning to upgrade other health centers soon so [they] can operate as primary care facilities,” she added.

Among the criteria for the license are patient rights and organizational ethics, patient care, leadership and management, human resource management, information management, safe practice and environment, performance, facilities, public access to information, and equipment and instruments.

Established in 2014, the Palanan Health Center houses a clinical laboratory and a pharmacy.

It also provides dental services, maternal and child care, immunization, nutrition counseling, communicable and non-communicable disease prevention and control, reproductive health and family planning, tuberculosis prevention and control, minor surgical procedures, and elderly care.

Binay further said of the 27 health centers across the city, two of which are located in Barangays Pitogo and Tejeros are currently being upgraded to be granted the license.

Under the Hospital Licensure Act, all hospitals and healthcare facilities are required to register and secure a license to operate (LTO) from the DOH to ensure the delivery of safe and quality primary care services to Filipinos.

The issuance of an LTO to primary care facilities is further strengthened through the implementing rules and regulations of the UHC.

The LTO is a prerequisite to the accreditation of a health facility by an accrediting body of the DOH. —VBL, GMA News