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MAKATI MEDICAL CENTER The "Executive Physical" offered at Makati Medical Center in the Philippines is a good investment in your most important asset: your health. Everyone -- regardless of age -- should undergo this kind of comprehensive physical regularly. After about 50-55, think about every 24-36 months.. No physical exam is fun. Some tests (barium enemas, colonoscopies, endoscopies, proctosigmoidoscopies or trans-rectal ultrasounds) are embarrassing, downright stressful and uncomfortable. But the way they do an Executive Physical at "MakatiMed" at least makes them easier to endure. For pre-exam or post-exam hotel accommodations...if you have not been there before and already know a hotel you like, ask a knowledgeable Filipino for suggestions. We no longer recommend any of the web services -- no problems with credit card security...many of those websites are in Singapore or Hong Kong and you have no one you can complain to with a local call. There are some good deals on the Internet -- but if you know your way around you can always beat the packages offered on the web. This is the Philippines, and everything is negotiable -- especially hotel rates! Look for websites run by individual hotels and book directly (names, a range of rates and URLs coming soon). Besides, you will get rates as good as (or better than) travel services because the hotel will save an agent's commission. Rooms with free breakfast are common. MakatiMed's Executive physical is a comprehensive medical check-up. It includes a broad range of patient needs. (The various plans are detailed below). The term "executive physical" is actually a series of examinations for busy people who do not have the time to sit around in clinics over a week or two waiting to see a physician or specialist. Some things (histories, drawing blood and DREs) are done in your room -- for the others, you are taken in a wheelchair to the lab, test facility, clinic or doctor’s office. The doctors and staff are waiting for YOU! There is NO waiting. They do the test, examination or procedure and you are taken back to your room or on to your next appointment. Makati Medican Center is not as new as Asian Hospital (or as crowded as St. Lukes (in Quezon City) but the rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable. Makati Med is one of the largest hospitals in the Philippines, the physicians and support staff are highly-qualified and they anticipate every need. (Asian Hospital is newer and trendier, but it is located in fashionable, pricey Ayala Alabang, some distance from the business, shopping and entertainment of Makati. Traffic in the National Capitol Region (Metro Manila, Quezon City, Makati) because 12 million people live there. Except for Sundays and the wee small hours, the streets are always "very traffic". If you have a car and driver, getting to Alabang is not a problem. Makati cabbies will always say "no" to a trip to Alabang because once he drops you, he'll have trouble finding a fare back to Makati whee he knows the streets. Offer to pay double the meter rate because he will almost certainly make the return trip empty. And thepassenger pays the tolls both ways. Back to Makati Med: the hospital is fully air-conditioned and your room will have ample amenities -- a private bath, (ask for a room with a fridge) cable TV, telephone and 110V power outlet for your laptop. (When using the Internet, be sure to insert a 9 followed by 2 or 3 commas to dial out of the hospital (or your hotel) switchboard to an ISP. If you don't have an ISP in the Philippines, you can buy dial-up Internet cards (P100 for 20 hours) wherever you get phone cards). Wi-fi and broadband Internet access is not readily available to short-term users. Other phone info: instead of "please hold your line" -- they say, "for a while". Makati Med provides customary linen, towels and standard hospital gowns and pajamas. You may bring your own PJs, a comfortable pair of slippers and your own toiletries. You room will be equipped with a small cot on which your helper/companion may sleep! It is a quaint custom in the Philippines...you are allowed to have overnight company in your hospital room. This is an essential for Filipino patients -- women do not check in without one. On helpers/companions: Foreign female patients will luxuriate in the convenience of having someone to help bathe, dress, eat, do errands, arrange for a major facial, a hairdresser, manicurist or just "be company". No connections? Ask your nurse to recommend one (either nurses or nursing students). They're happy to help because your companion reduces the workload on the hospital staff. Male patients can have a companion too, but if you check in with one who looks, dresses and accts like her regular job is in a nightclub, she should expect a chilly reception. The hospital does not furnish helpers/companions with linens, towels, sheets, pillows, blankets or meals. Yours can patronize the small, air-conditioned restaurant on the 3rd floor. The menu is complete, the food is good and reasonably priced. There's a nice selection of magazines and gifts near the cashier and an small smoking area outside on the terrace of the restaurant. "Take out" is allowed, but your nurses will caution you about sharing your companion’s drinks, food or snacks. You are only permitted to consume hospital food -- which, like hospital fare everywhere -- healthy but bland. Ask the Dietician to drop in if you want something different or special -- and if your doctor approves, you'll get it. Non-Filipinos should expect potatoes by default. If you are a "foreigner" they presume you want potatoes. If you prefer rice, say so. Makati Med is a smoke-free facility. You can't open the windows in your room, so if you have to smoke, do it in the bathroom with the door closed and when you finish, close the door. The nurses may be petite and charming ladies, but they know when you have been smoking so be prepared for a stern (but respectful) caution about smoking on her floor. Admission time for MULTI-PLAN A and MULTI-PLAN B patients is 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M., Mondays to Thursdays only. They don’t do "Executive Physical" admissions on holidays and days before holidays because some units may be closed and specialists may not be available. Check for possible holidays with a knowledgeable Filipino friend...there are lots of holidays in the Philippines. If you do not have or know a physician in the Philippines, I recommend that you ask Dr. Ernesto G. Olympia to serve as your "home-base" doctor. Dr. Olympia can be reached at Makati Med’s main switchboard -- (632) 888-8999. Dr. Olympia’s direct number is (632) 892-7207. He is available Monday through Saturday (no Wednesdays) from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. His office assistant is a bright young lady named Elsa. As the "home-base" physician, Dr. Olympia will arrange for your admission and will take full charge of your work-up. He will conduct a medical interview and set up a preliminary physical examination. After you have completed the full program, all reports will be sent to his office and he will prepare a comprehensive, written report for you. He will review the results and of the recommendations of each of the specialists with you personally. The full report and review will take about 2 weeks or more -- depending on the outcome of your tests. Dr. Olympia would like you to return for a face-to-face consultation about the report, but if a return trip is impractical, the report (with notations) can be mailed, faxed or sent to you by FedEx or DHL. The reports typically run 25+ pages. You will be asked to cover the costs of shipping or faxing the report -- international calls out of the Philippines are pricey. Stay a few days and do some shopping. Play some golf. Relax. Your doctor told you! Any examinations that are not included in the plan may be recommended by your coordinating physician. These may be done and charged to your account (and you are given a 20% discount). Since this is a "look-see", treatment and medications are not included in the package. As in the U.S., some doctors give samples (that they got as a courtesy from suppliers). FYI Up-front: If you decline to undergo one or more examinations/consultations in the plan, the rate can not be adjusted. Tests and/or consultations may not be substituted for another that is not included in the plan you and your doctor select. Tests and consultations that are not taken during confinement must be taken not later than one (1) week after discharge to complete your full plan. Try not to complicate things...stick with the schedule. Multi-Plan A patients are allowed a maximum of nine (9) consultations; Multi-plan B patients, six (6). Any consultations in excess of these may be charged for, but the fees are VERY reasonable. EXECUTIVE PLAN A EXAMINATIONS:
CONSULTATIONS:
TESTS TO BE DONE WITHOUT ADDITIONAL COST IF
CONSIDERED NECESSARY BY THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN:
CONSULTATIONS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL COST IF CONSIDERED
NECESSARY BY THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN:
(Maximum of four) EXECUTIVE PLAN B EXAMINATIONS:
Chest X-Ray CONSULTATIONS: TESTS TO BE DONE WITHOUT ADDITIONAL COST IF
CONSIDERED NECESSARY BY THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN: CONSULTATIONS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL COST IF CONSIDERED
NECESSARY BY THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN: (Choose only one) EXECUTIVE PLAN C EXAMINATIONS:
Chest X-Ray CARDIAC PACKAGE EXAMINATIONS:
Chest X-Ray RATE SCHEDULE
MULTI-PLAN A
MULTI-PLAN B
MULTI-PLAN C (Out-Patient Only) Php4,400
MULTI-PLAN D (CARDIAC PACKAGE)
You can visit Makati Medical Center's website at:
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