AYALA Corporation stands by its commitment to improve the lives of Filipinos by reinventing businesses and transforming markets to attend to their most pressing needs.
Through a wholly owned subsidiary, Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (Ayala Health), the group aims to redefine healthcare by making it more accessible and affordable. Cognizant of the need for quality medicine, Ayala Health began its foray into the healthcare space with an investment in Generika Drugstore, a nationwide chain of retail pharmacies. Ayala Health then ventured into the clinic space through FamilyDOC, a new chain of community-based primary care clinics.
Across the Ayala Group, Ayala has also invested in various partnerships for health. Ayala Land, together with the Mercado General Hospital group, owns and operates Qualimed, a chain of 3 multi-specialty clinics, 2 ambulatory surgical centers, and 3 full-service hospitals. Most recently, in May 2016, it opened Qualimed Hospital – San Jose Del Monte, a 105-bed general hospital located in Altaraza Town Centrer, Bulacan. Guided by the principles of appropriate, affordable and accessible care, Qualimed’s vision is to grow to 10 clinics and 10 hospitals by 2020.
In healthcare IT, Globe Telecom has partnered with Mexico-based Salud Interactiva to develop Konsulta-MD, a 24/7 telemedicine service. It provides its members access to medical advice from licensed doctors though their mobile and landline phones. To date, KonsultaMD has 80,000 members, and continues to grow its subscriber base.
Through these initiatives, Ayala seeks to become more relevant to Filipino patients and their families, at different stages of health.
Quality medicines, now within reach
Generika continues to grow its network of stores, with a total of 614 stores nationwide. In the first half of 2016, Generika opened 43 stores, up 79 percent from the same period last year.
Of this, Ayala Health Chief Executive Officer Paolo Borromeo said, “We are proud of our partnership with the Ferrer Group and our investment in Generika. We feel strongly about the need to provide more affordable medicine to all Filipinos.”
“People don’t realize that when you go to Generika, your medicine savings could be as much as 85 percent. We are confident that it is a channel worth expanding, and we look forward to growing the network to over a thousand stores by 2020,” he added.
From July 2015 to June 2016, Generika opened an unprecedented 78 stores. Aggressive store expansion positively impacted its topline, with first half of 2016 revenues of P1.36 billion, up 16 percent vs. first half of 2015.
In line with its continued expansion, Generika underwent a brand refresh in February 2016 to be more responsive to the needs of its customers. It recently launched the “Gabay Generika” campaign, which aims to expand Generika’s brand equity from quality affordable generic medicines to include other value-added services. The campaign highlights Generika’s “Gamot Guide,” a free printed consumer guide for medications—the first guide of its kind in the Philippines.
Generika Drugstore was established in 2003 as the pioneer in providing affordable, quality generic medicine. In July 2015, Ayala Health acquired 50 percent of Generika Drugstore.
Health, All-in-one
For its part, FamilyDOC—after opening its first two clinics in Las Piñas and Imus, Cavite—continues to gain momentum, and has now served over 6,000 unique patients since its opening in December 2015. Positioned to promote prevention, FamilyDOC is a 3-in-1 primary care facility, offering the services of a clinic, a diagnostic facility, and a pharmacy.
Of this innovative move, Borromeo said, “People who were not able to get checkups before now have a convenient place to go to. You can get medicine, your laboratory needs, your x-rays, all in one place.”
“Apart from convenience, we strive to make our services more affordable. As an example, our doctor consultation fee is 350 pesos – this even includes a free follow-up consult for a week. We look forward to offering these services to more patients as we grow FamilyDOC,” Borromeo said.
FamilyDOC is set to open four more clinics by the fourth quarter of 2016. New clinics will be located in Sabang, Dasmariñas; Golden City, Imus; Marcos Alvarez, Las Piñas; and Molino, Bacoor. FamilyDOC will continue to increase its presence in the South, and eventually to other parts of the country, exploring other middle-class communities as potential sites for expansion.
Services offered include outpatient consultation, minor surgical procedures, tertiary laboratory services, x-ray, ultrasound, and ECG. As an added convenience, these services are available from Monday-Saturday, 7am-10pm.
All these developments form part of Ayala Corporation’s mission to improve the lives of the Filipino people by providing them with services and opportunities to enjoy a better life.