About Us
What is Culion Health?
Culion Health is a social enterprise startup project incubated under Culion Foundation, supported by StopTB Partnership.
The initiative started as one of the 13 StopTB Partnership-funded projects in 11 countries, with the purpose of initiating ideas to engage private sector in the tuberculosis program in August 2020. Culion Foundation's pitch is to provide an outsourced TB clinic for private hospitals, which will then focus on private physician engagement. It was observed that hospital TB clinics are an underutilized intervention to engage private sector in the TB program. We observed that the services of these clinics are not promoted well to the medical community, but this is because it is not aligned with the hospital's core business activities. By outsourcing the services, the hospitals can serve as a channel to link private physicians and their TB patients to the TB program, while unloading itself with the responsibility of undertaking public health activities, and at the same time earning revenues through clinic space rental and laboratory fees shouldered by the project.
Our first clinics opened in Maria Estrella General Hospital in Calapan and in Mendero Medical Center (formerly Pagadian City Medical Center) in Pagadian City on February 2021. Our third clinic in Zamboanga Peninsula Medical Center, meanwhile, was officially launched during the March 24, 2021 World TB Day celebration.
Our clinics are especially designed to cater to patients expecting services of a private clinic. Since focused only on providing TB care services, we provide comfortable and convenient environment for our TB patients. Being a social enterprise with public health core, we provide our services for free to our patients, thanks to the support of StopTB Partnership and soon by Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.
Being recognized as an important sector in the program, private sector remains a challenge in attaining the objectives of TB program. They contribute a significant number of TB patients, but almost all are not reported in the national TB registry. Their management are also deviating from the national guidelines on diagnosis and treatment, and consequently depriving the TB patients of evidence-based management.
As an entity specialized in the TB program, TB care service provision, and private sector engagement, Culion Health provides assistance to the local public health authorities in engaging private sector. Using marketing concepts, we conduct activities to improve their awareness on the updates on the TB program. We also employ initiatives to ensure their interest and actual action to be engaged in the program, through continuing medical education suited for clinicians, one-on-one advocacies, and collaboration with the local medical societies. We also undertake the public health functions expected from them, especially the reporting of cases and the monitoring of treatment of patients. We also guide them on the appropriate diagnostic and treatment pathway, as stipulated in the national guidelines and local policies.
As an enterprise with public health core, Culion Health closely coordinates its interventions and activities with the national and regional counterparts of Department of Health TB control program, and with the provincial and city health offices. Our clinics are DOH-certified, reflecting our compliance with the national manual of procedures of TB program, including reporting and recording of cases to the Integrated TB Information System. Aside from helping them in engaging private physicians in the TB program, we provide assistance to the local TB program implementers by sharing our resources such as printed copies of TB manual of procedures and by inviting them in our activities. In return, the local TB program implementers also share resources to Culion Health, such as medicines, laboratory reagents, PPEs, and recording materials.
In 2021, despite operating for less than a year, our three clinics became the top TB clinics contributing to case finding in our project sites. Our Calapan clinic emerged as the top TB clinic in 2021, emerging past the other three clinics in the city. Our Pagadian clinic also became the top TB clinic besting the four other DOH-certified TB clinics in the city. Our Zamboanga clinic, on the other hand, became the top TB clinic on the second half of 2021, besting 24 other TB clinics in the city. The total number of private sector contribution to case finding in all three cities also topped the level recorded in pre-pandemic 2019, despite the overall decrease in cases registered attributed to COVID-19 pandemic. Our performance in case finding, despite relying solely on private physician's referrals, reflects the effectiveness of our approach in engaging private sector in the TB program.
The initiative started as one of the 13 StopTB Partnership-funded projects in 11 countries, with the purpose of initiating ideas to engage private sector in the tuberculosis program in August 2020. Culion Foundation's pitch is to provide an outsourced TB clinic for private hospitals, which will then focus on private physician engagement. It was observed that hospital TB clinics are an underutilized intervention to engage private sector in the TB program. We observed that the services of these clinics are not promoted well to the medical community, but this is because it is not aligned with the hospital's core business activities. By outsourcing the services, the hospitals can serve as a channel to link private physicians and their TB patients to the TB program, while unloading itself with the responsibility of undertaking public health activities, and at the same time earning revenues through clinic space rental and laboratory fees shouldered by the project.
Our first clinics opened in Maria Estrella General Hospital in Calapan and in Mendero Medical Center (formerly Pagadian City Medical Center) in Pagadian City on February 2021. Our third clinic in Zamboanga Peninsula Medical Center, meanwhile, was officially launched during the March 24, 2021 World TB Day celebration.
Our clinics are especially designed to cater to patients expecting services of a private clinic. Since focused only on providing TB care services, we provide comfortable and convenient environment for our TB patients. Being a social enterprise with public health core, we provide our services for free to our patients, thanks to the support of StopTB Partnership and soon by Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.
Being recognized as an important sector in the program, private sector remains a challenge in attaining the objectives of TB program. They contribute a significant number of TB patients, but almost all are not reported in the national TB registry. Their management are also deviating from the national guidelines on diagnosis and treatment, and consequently depriving the TB patients of evidence-based management.
As an entity specialized in the TB program, TB care service provision, and private sector engagement, Culion Health provides assistance to the local public health authorities in engaging private sector. Using marketing concepts, we conduct activities to improve their awareness on the updates on the TB program. We also employ initiatives to ensure their interest and actual action to be engaged in the program, through continuing medical education suited for clinicians, one-on-one advocacies, and collaboration with the local medical societies. We also undertake the public health functions expected from them, especially the reporting of cases and the monitoring of treatment of patients. We also guide them on the appropriate diagnostic and treatment pathway, as stipulated in the national guidelines and local policies.
As an enterprise with public health core, Culion Health closely coordinates its interventions and activities with the national and regional counterparts of Department of Health TB control program, and with the provincial and city health offices. Our clinics are DOH-certified, reflecting our compliance with the national manual of procedures of TB program, including reporting and recording of cases to the Integrated TB Information System. Aside from helping them in engaging private physicians in the TB program, we provide assistance to the local TB program implementers by sharing our resources such as printed copies of TB manual of procedures and by inviting them in our activities. In return, the local TB program implementers also share resources to Culion Health, such as medicines, laboratory reagents, PPEs, and recording materials.
In 2021, despite operating for less than a year, our three clinics became the top TB clinics contributing to case finding in our project sites. Our Calapan clinic emerged as the top TB clinic in 2021, emerging past the other three clinics in the city. Our Pagadian clinic also became the top TB clinic besting the four other DOH-certified TB clinics in the city. Our Zamboanga clinic, on the other hand, became the top TB clinic on the second half of 2021, besting 24 other TB clinics in the city. The total number of private sector contribution to case finding in all three cities also topped the level recorded in pre-pandemic 2019, despite the overall decrease in cases registered attributed to COVID-19 pandemic. Our performance in case finding, despite relying solely on private physician's referrals, reflects the effectiveness of our approach in engaging private sector in the TB program.
Our Locations
Our clinics are strategically located in premier private hospitals to provide our patients with TB care services that are comfortable, convenient, accessible, and most of all, free.
Maria Estrella General Hospital TB Clinic
Tawiran, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro
Mendero Medical Center TB Clinic
formerly Pagadian City Medical Center
Cabrera Street, Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur
Zamboanga Peninsula Medical Center TB Clinic
Maria Clara Lobregat Avenue, Putik,
Zamboanga City
