Clinic chain sets benchmark for outpatient care in RP

Manila Bulletin Online August 1, 2004 www.mb.com.ph http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2004/08/01/HLTH2004080114833.html

When people hear the words “outpatient clinic,” they immediately assume the doctors there don’t nearly come up to the caliber of those in hospitals. But this is not always the case, as one ophthalmologist asserts, especially when it concerns Healthway, the country’s top network of outpatient medical clinics and ambulatory surgical centers.

Dr. Manolette Roque, 33 years old, is the general manager of Ophthalmic Consultants Philippines, a team of ophthalmologists involved in group practice, and manager of the group of doctors at Healthway Festival Mall in Alabang. He belongs to the original core of doctors who joined Healthway Festival Mall when it was set up in 1999.

"I believe the outpatient services that Healthway provides is the way to go for health services," says Dr. Roque. "Healthway addresses patients’ concerns like transportation difficulties, their anxieties about being brought to a hospital, and the problems of day care."

He adds: "It’s a one-stop-shop inside a high volume area, in this case, the malls. Children and grandparents and their families can have both treatment and treats. The husband or grandparent may have his eye checkup while the wife goes to the beauty salon. For the kids, it’s a jolly treat of their favorite hamburger, pizza or ice cream right outside the door of the clinic, after the doctor has examined them."

This concept is also quite revolutionary considering that patients can now avail of the expertise of specialists on one go, on the same floor. "We respect subspecialty referrals," elaborates Dr. Roque. "If, for example, I see a patient with retinal detachment, I will not keep that patient for myself, but will refer him to another doctor, a surgical retina specialist. In the same way, if someone wants to have a brow lift or plastic surgery for the eyelids, we send him over to an ocuplastics surgeon. We provide the patient the opportunity to see the best doctors to treat his particular problem and thereby also provide him with the optimum care possible."

Patients are rest assured that they are examined by doctors who are the best in their field. Dr. Roque himself graduated from the Intarmed Program of the UP College of Medicine in Manila in 1995 and completed his internship and residency at the Philippine General Hospital. While taking up his residency, Dr. Roque put up the first of his two websites, www.webeyemd.com. and www.eyerepublic.com.ph, to remedy the lack of information regarding ophthalmology.

Before joining Healthway, he went to the United States for a research fellowship in ocular immunology and uveitis at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of the Harvard Medical School, further learning skills in cornea and refractive surgery in the same institution. He received his Diplomate in Ophthalmology from the Philippine Board of Ophthalmology in 2002, topping the Oral Diplomate Board Examination and ranking ninth in the written exam.

As a specialist in ocular immunology and uveitis, Dr. Roque deals with inflammatory and autoimmune eye diseases. Uveitis is an inflammation of the uvea or the inner part of the eye encompassing the iris, choroid, and ciliary body. His specialization is also concerned with all systemic diseases that affect the eye. As an ocular immunologist, he examines patients like an internist would, checking the whole body and not just the eyes.

Dr. Roque’s fields of interest has him performing anterior segment surgery of the eyes. This includes surgeries of the conjunctiva, sclera, cornea, iris and lens, which include grafts, transplants, prk, customized lasik and small incision cataract surgeries. He also treats external diseases of the eyes.

Dr. Roque hopes to finish his master’s in Business Administration in health at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business after two more years. "It will help me in managing my company [OCP], the practice, and the business aspect of ophthalmology," he says. "It will also allow us to provide good service and optimize our resources."

Dr. Roque and his colleagues also benefit from the set-up offered by Healthway which helps them do more. "Healthway has set the benchmark for outpatient care in the country," he says. "I am confident they will continue to excel in this particular line of healthcare delivery, which addresses a niche market of patients who would rather see doctors in outpatient clinics or ambulatory surgical centers." Many similar establishments are cropping up around the city, Dr. Roque observes, but he’s confident that Healthway will continue to be the leader in its field.