Medical tourism in the country has escalated in the recent years. There has also been an increasing demand for properties that are specifically centered on medical facilities.

Century Properties Group has opened the doors of Centuria Medical Makati, the country’s largest outpatient IT-medical building located in Century City, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati.

Now on soft opening, the 28-story, 74,000-square-meter facility serves to revolutionize preventive health and outpatient care, the delivery of wellness services as well as open greater opportunities for medical tourism in the Philippines.

“It is a realization of our vision to change the game in healthcare. Centuria Medical Makati addresses the country’s need for a point of reference when it comes to a medical tourism facility as well as an elevated form of outpatient experience,” said Century Properties chair and CEO Jose E.B. Antonio.

Regionally, the Philippines is still in the developing stage in providing medical tourist services. But Century Properties believes it should be afforded with more attention, and that the presence of an integrated outpatient facility is a concrete way of securing a steady stream of patients to the country.

The 30-year-old real estate firm is the only developer that has a history of creating medical arts facilities, including Medical Plaza Makati, Medical Plaza Ortigas and the medical arts center of Asian Hospital in Alabang.

Because of the success of Centuria and the demand for this kind of facility, Century is considering its expansion to other cities nationally and regionally.

Medical tourism hub

Century Properties is positioning Centuria as an aggregator of the best industry practitioners in medicine and wellness that will cater to both medical tourists and local residents.

Overseas, it aims to tap a market of Filipino expatriates and foreign nationals from Europe, North America, Middle East and Asia-Pacific through an international clientele network.

Locally, Centuria will serve Makati and nearby cities, including its immediate catchment area in Century City, which will have four residential (Gramercy, Knightsbridge, Milano Residences and Trump Tower) and four office-commercial towers upon completion (Century Spire, Forbes Media Tower, Centuria and the Century City Mall), as well as nearby villages San Miguel, Bel Air, San Lorenzo and Urdaneta.

Centuria will host more than 500 doctors’ clinics specializing in its centers of excellence in primary care, multispecialty surgery, dermatology and cosmetic laser treatment, multispecialty dentistry, cosmetic and facial surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology/laser eye surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, urology, physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, orthopedics, dialysis, breast cancer treatment and wellness and complementary medicine.

Soon to open is he spacious clinic of Dr. Cristina Puyat that will have services of beauty, wellness and antiaging.

Centuria’s scale as a new-age medical arts facility is marked by the presence of essential outpatient services, such as the newly opened Urgent Care Clinic that caters to primary level cases or nonlife-threatening illnesses; the top-notch diagnostic laboratory Advanced Lab Solutions by Hi-Precision Diagnostics; and the Executive Screening Center led by Dr. Oscar Cabahug, which offers customized and affordable health packages for patients.

Also opening soon is The Surgery Center, a stand-alone, outpatient surgical facility with over 500 highly skilled and board certified doctor-surgeons from different medical practices already accredited; and the Asia Breast Center, the first profit-for-charity clinic dedicated to breast cancer treatment led by the renowned US-based oncologist Dr. Norman San Agustin.

Above-par patient experience

To add even more premium on patient experience, Centuria implements a patient queuing system as well as medical concierge services that can assist with travel and accommodation bookings.

Parking space is ample, and the Century City Mall next door is easily accessible for both additional parking needs, dining, watching a movie and shopping.

Antonio envisioned Centuria to provide world-class outpatient healthcare that is on par with medical tourism facilities in Singapore and Thailand. With the center’s opening, the vision has become a reality.
Contact the Centuria Medical Makati concierge at 7938611 or at ask@wordpress-884789-3202805.cloudwaysapps.com.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer | February 27, 2016

Centuria Medical Makati is set to open the Urgent Care Clinic, programmed to operate 24/7 and which  can dispense medical care for primary level cases or what are commonly referred to as minor or non-life threatening illnesses and injuries.

Urgent Care Clinic  is staffed  by a trained team of urgent care doctors and nurses.

Primary level cases include less than serious medical conditions such as cough and colds, headaches, fever, abdominal pain, dizziness, injuries such as less than severe contusions, minor cuts, and abrasions, as well as occupational health concerns.

The Urgent Care Clinic will offer a wide range of medical services including but not limited to; cleaning and suturing of cuts and wounds, nebulizations, administration of intravenous medications, oxygen administration and even the administration of vaccines and immunizations.

Urgent Care Clinic is located at the ground floor of Centuria Medical Makati, Century City, Kalayaan avenue,  Makati City.

Upon full operation, Centuria Medical Makati will house more than 600 doctors’ clinics and premier facilities such as the Executive Screening Center, The Surgery Center, a multi-disciplinary breast clinic and the Executive Guest Suites.

Source: Malaya | February 4, 2016

A new center hopes to ‘break the cycle of fear’ about the disease–while taking post-treatment very seriously

Living a good life is about having choices. But Filipino women with breast cancer often believe they are left with no choice at all.

At the soon-to-open Asia Breast Center—the country’s first freestanding ambulatory cancer care unit for profit-for-charity, dedicated to the comprehensive treatment and management of breast diseases—the doctors, many of them established names working for top hospitals in the United States, believe in giving more options to women suffering from the illness.

(Fifty percent will be donated to foundations/institutions that aim to help breast cancer patients who can’t afford treatment)

Dr. Norman San Agustin, president and CEO of Asia Breast Center, is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and founder and president of Morristown Surgical Associates at the Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey.

The Asia Breast Center at the 8/F Centuria Medical Makati in Century City, Kalayaan Ave., Makati, is affiliated with the Cancer Program of Morristown Medical Center. Morristown is among the top five hospitals in the greater New York Metropolitan area, and also among the top 50 hospitals in the United States.

The center will introduce a multidisciplinary approach in the management of breast cancer.

“With the beautiful reconstruction we’ve been doing now, the oncoplastic surgeon has evolved, where the concern is not only preserving the life of the patient, but preserving her integrity as a woman,” San Agustin said.

Misconceptions

San Agustin is determined to break what he calls the cycle of fear among Filipino women—misconceptions, he said, that plague the educated and uneducated alike: that breast cancer means losing your life, your breast,  and your identity as a woman.

Filipino women, he said, wrongly believe that they get better results if they opt to remove the entire breast. That’s why mastectomy is widely practiced in the country—not because women prefer to have their breasts removed, but because they feel they are left with no choice at all.

“That kind of mind-set is like arguing that wheels should be square instead of round,” he pointed out.

With one of every five women in the Philippines developing breast cancer in their lifetime, that means more women opting to give up their “girls” believe it’s the only way to stay alive. The psychological damage can be so huge that some women cannot even stand to look at themselves in the mirror anymore.

There has been tremendous research over the years involving thousands of women. With all things equal—age, cancer stage, tumor size, tumor type, receptor type—the outcomes for a mastectomy and a lumpectomy are exactly the same, San Agustin said.

“I heard from contacts here that 90 percent of Filipino women go for mastectomy. That’s the complete opposite of treatments in the United States, where many choose lumpectomy. I have highly educated Filipinos asking me how cancer returned when the entire breast has been removed,” he noted.

During a mastectomy, no doctor can possibly remove all the glands in the body, since they are located under the skin. If doctors shave off everything, the skin becomes gangrenous, and necrosis (death of the skin tissue) occurs.

“All you need is one dot, one nodule for cancer to return. The little fat left in the skin is critical because that contains the vascular elements that will supply oxygen to the skin. Without that, the skin would die,” he said.

But what about a lumpectomy that leaves the breast alone? That’s the reason patients need radiation, to destroy the remaining cancer cells, San Agustin explained.

Radiation therapy could also be the reason women shy away from lumpectomy. This normally entails daily radiation, Monday to Friday, for six-and-a-half weeks. That means hours of going through traffic and waiting in line at the hospital.

“So they say, tanggalin mo na lang, without fully understanding the devastating implications of mastectomy. They take the cosmetic part of the surgery for granted,” he said.

Highly effective

The Asia Breast Center will offer accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). It is a localized form of radiation treatment (brachytherapy) where a radioactive “seed” is inserted to kill breast cancer cells that may still be around after a lumpectomy.

This is a highly effective dose of radiation, San Agustin said, which enormously reduces treatment time.

A caveat, though: the specialized catheter is expensive (costing up to $3,000 or about P140,000). APBI can only be performed on women with stages 0-1 cancer.

“It is more critical that, before deciding on the modality of treatment, patients should discuss it with three specialists who speak to each other—a diagnostic radiologist, a radiation oncologist and a surgical oncologist,” he said.

This way, the patient and the doctors will know which treatment comes first. The traditional surgery-chemo-radiation sequence of treatment, for example, will not work on someone with inflammatory carcinoma, and could even cause death.

Someone with inflammatory carcinoma, he said, will have a better survival rate doing chemo, surgery, radiation, and then chemo again.

“We are not retrospective in our management; we are prospective. Before we treat you, three of us, plus the patient, will talk to each other. The difficult cases will be presented to the board at Morristown,” he said.

The center’s partnership with Morristown means they are held to a higher standard. A team of doctors, including Dr. Sammy Ang, Dr. Ed Santos, Dr. George Bocobo and Dr. Max Basco, will be coming in to share their expertise.

BREVAGen, a test for sporadic genes (sans family history of cancer), can determine your risk of developing breast cancer in the next five years. After all, more than 80 percent of women who develop breast cancer have little or no family history of the disease, San Agustin said.

Specimens, however, will need to be sent abroad for testing.

“You may be free of cancer from a clinical point of view, but you are never, ever cancer-free. Once you develop cancer, you are susceptible to recurrence or new cancers several times more than the average population,” he said.

But breast cancer is a different beast altogether. It can recur even decades after diagnosis, so post-treatment is very critical.

A consultation relevant to the mammography findings should include recommendations on how to reduce chances of developing.

Unlike pancreatic or lung cancer, in which patients die after a few months, those with advanced or aggressive breast cancer could live for a few more years, he said.

Cancer will slowly affect the flesh. Then it can metastasize to the chest, ribs, lungs and brain before it kills the patient.

“It’s a hard and painful way to go. So it’s disconcerting that people take it very lightly. It’s a huge issue,” San Agustin said.

The clinic will also put in a mobile unit so that testing, such as mammography, can now be done outside the center.

“We will bring the equipment to them. No more excuses,” he added.
Call Asia Breast Center through Centuria Medical Makati 7938606, or e-mail ask@wordpress-884789-3202805.cloudwaysapps.com.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer | January 26, 2016

Today’s breast cancer statistics are alarming, especially in the Philippines, where the highest incidence has been recorded in all of Asia.

The Department of Health and the Philippine Cancer Society said that breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in the country, taking 16 percent of the 50,000 diagnosed cancer cases.

Additionally, one out of every four women in the Philippines will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.  Half of them will die of the disease.

Dr. Norman San Agustin, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and founder and president of Morristown Surgical Associates at the Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey, has a successful practice in the United States dedicated to breast cancer. He was the immediate past chairman of the Comprehensive Cancer Care Program and the Breast Cancer Program at Saint Clare’s Hospital, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center affiliate satellite in New Jersey for about 10 years.  He adds that for every minute, one incidence of breast cancer develops and one breast cancer patient dies.

“The sad part is that in the Philippines, 70 percent of those who die of the disease do not receive any kind of treatment,” he laments.

The good news is very early breast cancer detection can result in better treatment outcomes and will require less invasive procedures. Despite this, most patients often think that the disease is immediately synonymous with death and mutilation.

“We have to break the cycle of fear about breast cancer with awareness, correct information, and the appropriate treatment. Most recent statistics show that the survival rate for very early detected breast cancer is 99 percent,” Dr. San Agustin notes.

There are a lot of misconceptions about breast cancer that Dr. San Agustin hopes to correct, and modern approaches to treatment that he seeks to introduce, when he opens his own breast center on Kalayaan Avenue and Salamanca Street in Makati City in April 2016. The Asia Breast Center at Centuria Medical Makati will be the first freestanding for-profit-for-charity ambulatory comprehensive breast cancer care center in the country and the region affiliated with a major cancer institution in the United States that will be dedicated solely to the management of breast diseases.

The center will occupy close to 400 square meters of space on the eighth floor of Centuria. It will be manned by a team of US-trained Filipino physicians led by Dr. San Agustin who has 45 years of experience in medicine and surgery, in affiliation with the Cancer Program of Morristown Medical Center. Morristown is rated as one of the top five hospitals in the greater New York Metropolitan area and one of the top 50 hospitals in the United States by US News & World Report.

A strong advocate for a multidisciplinary approach in the management of breast cancer, Dr. San Agustin has been recognized by the “Best Doctors” ranking service for breast surgery. He envisions the Asia Breast Center as one of the first breast centers outside the United States to be recognized and certified as a legitimate breast center by the American College of Surgeons that will strictly adhere to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) guidelines.

Modern facilities and excellent services from preventive care to early detection and treatment of breast cancer will be made available to the country through the center. Its specific services include early screening tests, radiation therapy, breast and cosmetology services, counseling, patient education, and close post-operative follow-up supportive services. It also provides complementary medical services including a free-standing ambulatory center, a Serenity Suite, a boutique shop, nutritional counseling, and emotional and psychological support.

Among its equipment is the latest 3D Tomosynthesis Mammogam, as well as the General Electric 2-D mammography machine, which has been donated by the Atlantic Health System of Newton Medical Center in the US to the good doctor.

Lydia Nadeau, director of the oncology service line for Atlantic Health System, told the New Jersey Herald in a recent news article: “(Dr. San Agustin) is a long-standing surgeon in our community, and he and his wife dedicate their time to take care of those in his native country, often traveling there during the year.”

She added: “When we were discussing how we can improve our own health care as well our commitment to improve the health of our communities, we thought, what a better way than to donate this machine. The mammography machine has ‘so much useful life left on it and it will be considered state-of-the-art in the Philippines.’”

The center is also involved in charity work. The profits from the unit will go to breast cancer screenings and treatments for indigent women, so they can also have access to quality healthcare.

Helping Dr. San Agustin in this cause is his team of highly trained Filipino doctors including Dr. Sammy Ang, Dr. Ed Santos, Dr. George Bocobo, and Dr. Max Basco as well as private citizens including business leaders Ramon del Rosario Jr. and Jose E.B. Antonio, and Jose L. Cuisia, the Philippine ambassador to the US.

The first beneficiaries of the center are the indigent patients of De La Salle University Hospital.

The establishment of the Asia Breast Center at Centuria Medical Makati is in line with the world-class IT-medical facility’s thrust towards quality outpatient care and the advancement of medical tourism in the Philippines.

“Our vision to revolutionize medical care in the country is now being realized as we partner with exceptional health facilities such as the Asia Breast Center, which is committed to treat and manage the breast conditions of women by using state-of-the-art facilities and services,” said Centuria senior vice president and general manager Rey Dimaano.

Centuria is the first outpatient IT building in the Philippines that offers topnotch outpatient medical care through advanced healthcare facilities and services. With the turnover of clinic spaces now ongoing, the medical arts center will be home to more than 500 doctors’ clinics and a wide range of health support facilities, including a day surgery center, recovery suites, radiology center, and diagnostic laboratory.

The Philippines is said to have the highest incidence of breast cancer in Asia, an alarming situation since this type of cancer is the most prevalent in the country, accounting for 16 percent of the 50,000 diagnosed breast cancer cases. Experts say one out of every four women in the country is likely to develop breast cancer in their lifetime, with half of this number projected to die of the disease. What makes it worse is that those diagnosed with the disease often think this is synonymous with death and mutilation.

The good news is that early detection of breast cancer can result in better treatment outcomes, and less invasive procedures.

Dr. Norman San Agustin, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and also the founder and president of Morristown Surgical Associates at the Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey, strongly believes that “We have to break the cycle of fear about breast cancer with awareness, correct information and the appropriate treatment. Most recent statistics show that survival rate for very early detected breast cancer is 99 percent.”

The doctor certainly knows whereof he speaks, as he has a successful practice in the United States dedicated to breast cancer and was immediate past chairman of the Comprehensive Cancer Care Program and the Breast Cancer Program at Saint Clare’s Hospital, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center affiliate satellite in New Jersey, for about 10 years.

It is these misconceptions about breast cancer that has encouraged the doctor to open his own breast cancer clinic, the Asia Breast Center at Centuria Medical Makati. Scheduled to open this April, Asia Breast Center will be the first freestanding For Profit-For-Charity ambulatory comprehensive cancer care center in the country and the region affiliated with a Major Cancer Institution in the United States dedicated solely to the management of breast diseases.

Occupying about 400-sqm of space on the eighth floor of Centuria, the center will be manned by a team of US trained Filipino physicians led by Dr. San Agustin who has 45 years of experience in medicine and surgery.

A strong advocate for a multidisciplinary approach in the management of breast cancer, San Agustin, who has been recognized by the “Best Doctors” ranking service for breast surgery, envisions the breast center to be the first outside the US to be recognized and certified as a legitimate breast center by the American College of Surgeons.

The center offers modern facilities and excellent services – from preventive care to early detection and treatment – that include early screening tests, radiation therapy, breast and cosmetology services, counseling, patient education, and close post-operative follow up supportive services. It will also provide complementary medical services including a free standing ambulatory center, a Serenity Suite, a boutique shop, nutritional counseling and emotional and psychological support.

Aside from high-quality service and advanced features, the center will also engage in charity work, with profits to be used to enable indigent women to have breast cancer screenings and treatments. With San Agustin is a team of highly trained Filipino doctors including Dr. Sammy Ang, Dr. Ed Santos, Dr. George Bocobo and Dr. Max Basco with help from business leaders Ramon del Rosario Jr. and Jose E.B. Antonio, as well as Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia. The first beneficiaries of the center will be indigent patients of De La Salle University Hospital.

“We are aware of many women’s fatalistic attitude towards their health because of poverty and lack of access to health care. Generally, Filipino women tend to stay in denial which then leads to late diagnosis, poor treatment, and ultimately a high mortality rate,” Dr. San Agustin said. Critical to a successful breast cancer treatment is early detection that can only be done through regular self-breast examinations and screenings such as mammography.

The establishment of the Asia Breast Center at Centuria Medical Makati is in line with the world-class IT-medical facility’s thrust towards quality outpatient care and the advancement of medical tourism in the Philippines.

Centuria is the first outpatient IT building in the Philippines that offers topnotch outpatient medical care through advanced healthcare facilities and services. With the turnover of clinic spaces now ongoing, the medical arts center will be home to more than 500 doctors’ clinics and a wide range of health support facilities including a day surgery center, recovery suites, radiology center, and diagnostic laboratory once it becomes fully operational this 2016.

Source: The Standard | January 13, 2016

Centuria Medical Makati’s Centers of Excellence recently held a joint ceremonial blessing last month.

Centuria is being positioned as a  center of medical tourism in the Philippines as well as in the Asia region.

The Centers of Excellence will host specialized medical services in primary care, multi-specialty surgery, dermatology and cosmetic laser treatment, multi-specialty dentistry, cosmetic and facial surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology/laser eye surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, urology, physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, orthopedic, dialysis and wellness and complementary medicine.

Following a main ceremonial ribbon cutting at the ground floor lobby, each of the centers including the Executive Screening Center, the Executive Guest Suites, the Surgery Center, as well as the Urgent Care Clinic held a ribbon cutting and blessing.

Centuria Medical Makati is a 28-storey medical arts building located along Kalayaan Avenue in Makati City. The IT-powered outpatient center houses more than 600 doctors’ clinics and premier facilities.

Source: Malaya | December 10, 2015

The Philippines is slowly progressing in terms of availability of diagnostic tests. Tests for early detection of hereditary cancer and pre-natal gender are just among the many advanced diagnostic tests available for us today.

Centuria Medical Makati, a medical IT outpatient center located in Century City, Kalayaan Avenue in Makati, recently opened Advanced Lab Solutions, a new clinic brand under Hi-Precision Diagnostics. It offers advanced tests such as the Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer test and the Panorama Non-Invasive Pre-Natal Screening. With hereditary cancer testing, the early detection of cancer can prepare a person in understanding risks and decisions about his health. On the other hand, the Panorama Non-Invasive Pre-Natal Screening can leave new parents at ease especially those with high risk pregnancies, couples who are over 35 years old, and parents with a history of genetic defect.

The hereditary cancer test aids in detecting gene mutations associated with different forms of cancers such as breast, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, melanoma, prostate and endometrial while the Panorama test not only detects a baby’s gender but also genetic abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome, Patau Syndrome, Triploidy, and certain sex chromosome abnormalities.

Hi-Precision Diagnostics is the country’s largest network of medical diagnostic facilities. It offers high quality medical services, including tests that are not readily available to most Filipinos through its international laboratory affiliates. It is also the first diagnostics clinic in the country to offer an online portal where patients can log in to get their results. Its clients can also access their lab result history and records by downloading a Hi-Precision Diagnostics special app through their smartphones. Advanced Lab Solutions clinic at Centuria will give patients access to this technology.

Centuria Medical Makati will house more than 650 clinics as well as commercial spaces such as cafes, restaurants and pharmacy outlets in the near future. Other facilities include a Day Surgery Center, Radiology Center, Exclusive Recovery Suites, and an Ambulance Transfer Service. The Asia Breast Center is also locating in Centuria this year.

Source: Manila Standard Today | September 16, 2015

EARLY detection of hereditary cancer and pre-natal gender is now possible in the Philippines.

Advanced Lab Solutions, a new clinic brand under Hi-Precision Diagnostics located in Centuria Medical Makati, is offering these advanced tests.

Hereditary cancer test aids in detecting gene mutations associated with 8 forms of cancers such as breast, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, melanoma, prostate and endometrial.

The Panorama test detects a baby’s gender, aside from genetic abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome, Patau Syndrome, Triploidy, and certain sex chromosome abnormalities.

“It is important to us that Advanced Lab Solutions by Hi-Precision adopts a strategy of patient-centric servicing because outstanding patient experience is premium to us at Centuria Medical,” said Centuria Medical Makati General Manager Rey Dimaano.

Hi-Precision Diagnostics is the country’s largest network of medical diagnostic facilities offering high quality medical services, including tests that are not readily available to most Filipinos through its international laboratory affiliates

Dubbed as the trusted “reference hub for laboratory services” in the health care industry, it opened its first branch in 1996 and has expanded since then.

Its clients can also access their lab result history and records by downloading a Hi-Precision Diagnostic’s special app through their smartphones.

Source: Malaya | August 31, 2015

MANILA, Philippines – A growing awareness on the possibility of picking up nosocomial, or hospital-acquired, infections is just one of the reasons why a number of people hesitate to visit their doctor in a hospital- based clinic. While it is true that top-notch medical institutions strive hard to maintain a meticulously sterile environment, a nagging apprehension can remain that the sheer number of patients with serious and highly infectious diseases within the hospital premises will make an entirely aseptic setting difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.  Taking into account the added anxiety and discomfort brought about by the increased possibility of hospital confinement (the patient is already within the hospital premises, after all); the worry over an extended hospital confinement and its attendant rapid accumulation of hospital bills; and even the momentary panic brought about by wailing ambulance sirens approaching the hospital, it is no longer surprising that many patients prefer to visit their doctors in a different, less stressful type of outpatient setting.

When discriminating patients expect excellent and prompt medical care but prefer to see their doctors in a less clinical, less intimidating but more comfortable environment, they deserve a well-planned and highly efficient facility.  This is the rationale behind Centuria Medical Makati. The 28-story state-of-the-art outpatient medical facility by premium property developer Century Properties Group houses close to 600 medical offices that offer professional medical care in a “hotel-like environment.”

Located within the upscale neighborhood of residential high-rises and commercial developments called Century City on Kalayaan Avenue, Centuria Medical Makati is equipped with the latest technology to help the most competent doctors deliver even more efficient healthcare. Apart from pre-wiring clinics for fast Internet access, electronic medical records (EMR) and picture archiving communications systems (PACS) make it easier for doctors to coordinate and refer the patient to other specialists should the patient’s condition require it.

Other health services include a diagnostic laboratory, digital imaging and pharmacy. The facility will also house a day surgery center for minor operations and luxurious recovery suites where patients can rest after their medical procedures.  And should the doctor deem that an outpatient consult will not suffice and hospitalization cannot be avoided, prompt ambulance transfer services are available for the convenience of the patient and his loved ones’ peace of mind. This is on top of Centuria having affiliations in tertiary hospitals, making referrals a breeze.

Patients can visit Centuria Medical Makati for a host of health concerns. The medical arts facility will house clinics catering to general medicine; multi-specialty practice; aesthetics/cosmetic surgery; dermatology; ear, nose and throat (ENT); ophthalmology; cardiology; oncology; neurology; psychiatry; obstetrics and gynecology; fertility; pediatrics; general surgery; orthopedics; urology; dentistry/orthodontics; anti-aging; geriatric medicine; pain care management; and wellness and complementary medicine, among others.

To lessen the worry over having to visit a doctor, the building will have efficient medical concierge services, ample parking spaces, and even valet parking services. Waiting for one’s medical appointment need not be an exercise in building tension because Century City Mall is practically a hop and skip away. As a pleasant place to shop and dine, the lifestyle destination is a good place to de-stress and relax before or even after seeing your doctor.

This is a time when medical tourism in the Philippines is picking up and more foreign patients are flocking to the country for healthcare and medical procedures. The standards of local healthcare are world-class, with more Filipino doctors recognized and lauded for their competence and commitment to excellence. More importantly, the empathy and genuine concern for the well-being of their patients enable Filipino physicians to stand out among their peers. It is for these doctors that Centuria Medical Makati has been built as a progressive medical arts facility. More than just a building to house their clinics and build their practices, the world-class facilities and support services of Centuria Medical Makati enable doctors to serve their local and foreign patients better.

Source: The Philippine Star | May 26, 2015

MANILA, Philippines – Century Properties Group has completed Centuria Medical Makati, the country’s largest outpatient IT-medical building located in Century City, Makati.

The soon-to-open 28-story, 74,000-sqm. facility serves to revolutionize preventive health and outpatient care, the delivery of wellness services as well as open greater opportunities for medical tourism in the Philippines.

“It is a realization of our vision to change the game in health care. Centuria Medical Makati addresses the country’s need for a point of reference when it comes to a medical tourism facility as well as an elevated form of outpatient experience,” said Century Properties chairman and CEO Jose E.B. Antonio.

On account of its natural attractions alone, the existence of top hotel chains and shopping centers, as well as an English-speaking population with some of the best healthcare professionals in the world, who are known for their genuine brand of care or malasakit, the Philippines is already at an advantage.

“A lot of medical tourism opportunities are the result of patients’ desire to secure quality care at affordable prices while they enjoy their vacation. The Philippines is one such country that can cater to all these needs,” Antonio added.

It also helps that the present government is keen on strengthening tourism as a whole, as can be seen in its landmark tourism promotion efforts across the globe.

Century Properties believes that the presence of a central facility for the patients to consider is a concrete way of securing a steady stream of patients to the country. The 28-year-old firm is the only developer that has a history of creating medical arts facilities, including Medical Plaza Makati, Medical Plaza Ortigas, and the medical arts center of Asian Hospital in Alabang.

Medical tourism hub
The country has been host to medical tourists for years through some of its hospitals, but it is only now that a facility is being dedicated to help sustain its growth as an industry.

“One of the challenges that this sector faced years ago is the lack of proper infrastructure to house practices specifically geared to accommodate medical tourists,” Antonio said.

Century Properties is positioning Centuria as an aggregator of the best industry practitioners in medicine and wellness that will cater to both medical tourists and local residents.

Overseas, it aims to tap a market of Filipino expatriates and foreign nationals from Europe, North America, Middle East and Asia Pacific through an international clientele network. Locally, Centuria will serve Makati and nearby cities, including its immediate catchment area in Century City, which will have a total of 8 residential and office/commercial towers upon completion, as well as nearby villages San Miguel, Bel Air, San Lorenzo and Urdaneta.

Centuria will host centers of excellence in primary care, multi-specialty surgery, dermatology and cosmetic laser treatment, multi-specialty dentistry, cosmetic and facial surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology/laser eye surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, urology, physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, orthopedic, dialysis, podiatry, oncology/cancer treatment and wellness and complementary medicine.

Century Properties also tapped G.E. Healthcare, which has global experience in large-scale hospital and medical center projects, for the infrastructure design and layout of Centuria’s amenities and facilities, such as the day-patient surgery center and the exclusive recovery suites.

Centuria’s scale as a new-age medical arts facility is marked by the presence of essential outpatient services that one will otherwise see as standalone centers, such as an urgent care clinic and a radiology center.

Above par patient experience
Centuria will implement a patient queuing system as well as put in place medical concierge services that can even assist with travel and accommodation bookings.

Each floor with doctors’ clinics is designed with a lounge for the convenience of patients. Parking space is ample, and a mall next door — the Century City Mall — is easily accessible both for additional parking needs, dining, watching a movie and shopping.

Antonio envisioned Centuria to provide world-class outpatient health care that is on par with medical tourism facilities in Singapore and Thailand.