Ospital ng Makati gets international certification for services

Makati City Mayor Abby Binay (inset) commended the Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) for meeting international standards on front-line services and processes. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — Makati Mayor Abby Binay has commended the city-run Ospital ng Makati (Osmak) for meeting strict international standards on frontline services and processes.

The hospital recently earned the ISO 9001:2015 Certification for Quality Management System after passing the certification audit done by the certification body, International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

“Congratulations to the management and personnel of Ospital ng Makati for once again meeting the rigorous standards of the ISO. While we may be a small, city-run hospital, our processes and facilities are at par with international standards,” Mayor Abby said.

The mayor said the city government was proud to share its latest achievement with the city residents.

“My dear Makatizens, we are proud to share this notable achievement with all of you. Our very own hospital is an internationally-certified health care facility capable of delivering premium quality medical services that you all deserve,” Mayor Abby declared.

She noted that Osmak is living up to the vision of her father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay. In 1988, then Mayor Jojo Binay sought to improve the delivery of public health service to Makati residents. He wanted a premier medical facility that had high standards of service and professionalism comparable to private hospitals. More importantly, Makati residents will receive medical treatment for free.

“More than 20 years after OsMak was established, we are harvesting the fruits of our continued hard work and dedication to serve our constituents. We continue to improve the delivery of health care services, procure more modern equipment, add more specialized services and train more doctors so we can treat more patients every day,” Mayor Abby stressed.

According to Dr. Vergel Binay, medical director of OsMak, the 2019 audit was conducted from February 5 to 8 and covered several areas, including patient admissions from the ER up to discharge of in-patient customers. Laboratory and Radiology services were also evaluated, as well as dispensing of medicine for the in-house pharmacy and the consultation process for out-patient at the Ambulatory Care Medicine Department. The assessment likewise covered support services which are related to the hospital’s core processes.

OsMak received its first ISO certification for Quality Management System in 2008. It was ISO-certified for disposition of patients at the Emergency Room made within six hours; admission process completed within 20 minutes; period of transaction from billing to discharge within one day; laboratory results for in-patients and ER patients obtained within two to three hours; and radiology results within two days.

OsMak was re-certified by the ISO every three years until 2015.

Besides the certification every three years, ISO conducts a yearly surveillance audit to ensure continued quality and delivery of services.

ISO 9001 is based on the “plan-do-check-act” methodology and provides a process-oriented approach to documenting and reviewing the structure, responsibilities, and procedures required to achieve effective quality management in an organization.

Organizations, including public facilities like OsMak, use the ISO standard to showcase their ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.  The ISO is an international agency composed of the national standards bodies of more than 160 countries. The current version of ISO 9001 was released in September 2015.

Besides the ISO certification, OsMak was also accredited by Philhealth as a Center of Excellence in 2012.  This was the first time a local government unit hospital was awarded that distinction for meeting 95 percent of the criteria set by PhilHealth.

OsMak is a 300-bed training facility for health professionals. It has accredited residency programs in Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emergency Medicine, Anaesthesia, Head and Neck Surgery, Pathology, Radiology, and Ophthalmology.

In July 2017, OsMak opened its own Eye Center. It also boasts the latest equipment for treatment as well as corrective eye surgical procedures. Since it opened, the Eye Center sees an average of 100 patients a day.

In October 2018, OsMak received the White Orchid Award from the Department of Health for its efforts to become a “no smoking” facility. /cbb