PhilHealth receives Sorsogon provincial member data in aid of UHC implementation

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has received some 309,000 electronic PhilHealth member registration forms (ePMRFs) of over 601,000 Sorsoganons in simple turnover rites in Pasig City recently.

The said ePMRFs shall be used to enroll Sorsoganons with PhilHealth to grant them with immediate eligibility to health benefits and services whenever and wherever they need it.

The said member data are also necessary in enlisting them to accredited PhilHealth KONSULTA providers in their area. Set to be rolled out in July 2021, beneficiaries will be given access to primary care services that include diagnostic and laboratory tests such as chest X-ray, fasting blood sugar, and ECG, among others. These tests will help in screening for medical conditions or in avoiding them altogether.

In addition, drugs and medicines for certain medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension will be dispensed through KONSULTA providers for free. KONSULTA stands for Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama which is one of the promises of the UHC Law.

The partnership stemmed from the initiative of Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero, with the support of Development Bank of the Philippines – Data Center, Inc. (DBP-DCI) which assisted Sorsogon on the use of the ePMRF Portal.

During the ceremony, Dr. Arturo Alcantara, PhilHealth Acting Chief Information Officer, said that “PhilHealth has put considerable effort in Sorsogon to pilot eKONSULTA,” and thanked DBP-DCI for developing the ePMRF Portal that helped capture member data. This information is then transferred to PhilHealth for validation, data mapping, and PIN generation prior to registration with KONSULTA.

 Alcantara added that, “If we are successful there [Sorsogon], then its rollout in July should run smoothly in other areas.”

 On the other hand, Dr. Mike Santos, UHC Integration Consultant for the Province of Sorsogon, thanked PhilHealth for its pilot implementation of KONSULTA in Sorsogon. He said, “It has been the aspiration of the Hon. Chiz [Escudero] since he assumed as Governor to provide free and quality health care in Sorsogon.” He also revealed that more than 90% of the province’s population is now covered under the NHIP.