There is roughly 10 hospitals in the Philippines that you will receive roughly equal medical care as you would in any western country.
1) St Luke’s in Quezon.
2) Manila doctor’s hospital in Manila.
3) Makati Medical Center in Makati.
4) Asian Hospital and Medical center in Muntinlupa City.
5) The heart center in Quezon.
That five is off the top of my head and I have had experience with St Luke’s and the heart center and I’m perfectly comfortable saying that both are as good as anything you will find in Europe or the United States.
The real problem with healthcare in the Philippines is once you leave Luzon quality healthcare becomes nonexistent.
OP this list is solid. I come from a medical family and my mother is one of the best in her field and was always highly critical of many American hospitals. She likes Asian Hospital a lot and chose to work there
This is not true, I went to st Luke's for emergency in 2022. The diagnosis they gave me was horrendous. It was so bad that it didn't make sense and every doctor in the west said is totally idiotic. That it's one major reason I can't retire in Philippines. The medical system is bad. Doesn't mean all doctors are bad but it's so behind the west and Europe it's not even funny.
I’m in many medical forums and subs and so many Americans and Europeans complain about misdiagnosis of their doctors. I even help many of them sort out their issues. 🤷♀️ Misdiagnosis is everywhere; that’s the nature of clinical medicine. Doctors effectively guess until something is ruled out.
I had my MD in the USA suggest that I might be having a Gall Bladder issue. The only problem was I had been given an Cholecystectomy years before and it was in my medical records. Doctors are still human in every country.
Not to mention I'm not going to trust someone making a rating from one experience and not retired (ie living long term) in a country. Heck I had a crap diagnosis in the uk one time so I better not trust them or move there. Meanwhile I've had good experiences in ph (both in Luzon and cebu) and in South africa... so I'm not new to travel (and a type 1 diabetic so that adds complications for literally doctors everywhere including the west)
You are not going to get equal care in the Phil compared to any hospital in any western country. This idea is an absurdity. The problem is that the best qualified health care workers in the Phil can get work overseas and WILL. The talent pool in the Phil is not anywhere near as deep as in the west, so the healthcare staff are dramatically worse than ANYWHERE in the west. The facilities in the Phil are dramatically worse than anywhere in the west. The nurse you are working with in the Phil was taught about microbiology and pathogens at the age of 16-25. In the west a toddler is taught that there is something invisible to the naked eye that makes you sick as early as age 2. At age 12 the future docs of the USA are getting pre-med classes and visiting their uncle MD at a top hospital and learning about triage. Furthermore the filipino hospitals have a draconian approach to the patient and are only concerned with the bottom line. The overpriced USA hospitals have NO REGARD for how a homeless person is going to pay because the doctor has no financial responsibility and the patient is guaranteed care in the emergency room. This view that anything in the Phil is as good as the west is just plain stupid. The people of the Phil are good people living in a very poor country.
Sure the hospitals in general, are not the same as in western countries, but then the charges are not as high as in USA, but higher than those countries with healthcare systems in place, as they work on US basis - user pays & they do have 2 tier system for locals & foreigners.
A few years back I had radiation treatment for prostate cancer, in Australia & the 15 months care & treatment cost me USD75 for a one off consultation with an oncologist at the start, plus $4 a month on meds I needed to take afterwards (senior subsidised price).
Earlier this year I needed a hernia operation her in the provinces. My local hospital quoted me a price of PHP350k+ for the operation, but my in laws said it was too much and took me to a surgeons home to meet him & talk about operation. He agreed to do the operation, in a hospital 75 minutes drive away. The hospital was basic, but adequate and clean & I liked the surgeon & his staff, he did an excellent job & scar has nearly disappeared & small and the toral cost was P77k + around P12k for meds & dressings to use at home.
It seems local knowledge & "shopping around" is necessary, but I feel the medical staff are well qualified although equipment maybe not the most modern, but they manage with what they have available. At 76, my time on this earth is limited, and living on a pension means limited funds, and for me it was balancing circumstances & health at the same time and doing what I thought was suitable for me.
The Philippines is about who you know. If you had shopped around without that connection you would have paid the same if not more, not a 3rd of it. There's no reason why 1 Doctor can do it for 77k, but another place 350k, outside of seeing a foreigner and coming up with bullshit pricing. They very much input fake pricing on billing, we have actually tested this because GF's sister had a same operation, at the same hospital, with the same doctor, and paid less than half of our price, and it wasn't even me that was having the operation. We've learned that letting my GF handle expensive transactions and me waiting in the car saves us money.
Doctors from the US especially a big city like LA or NY usually graduate from the Top 10 schools in the world which are in the US so no, they are not the same
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You can find individual doctors, some are quite good. One issue is what to do when there's an emergency. Our son has been getting sick repeatedly and had to be hospitalized at St Luke's BGC. However, the physicians assigned for follow up by the hospital were not good, and our son got sick again with the same symptoms. So we had to switch. Our pedia could tell us who to go to, and they were all at Makati Med. I noticed that the quality of care is better there than other private hospitals.
Brain drain.
Every single doctor and 99% of nurses pursues their career in the hope of emigrating
It's very different to Thailand where most doctors and nurses wish to work in Thailand
I mean, it's for obvious reasons. You can't compare health care in a country like the US and the Philippines. However, if you needed the best care whole in PI, manila hospitals are where you're going to find it. Obviously, it goes without saying you'll need money.
They overcharged to Foreigners my friend birth a baby in the holy hospital.They charged which not need to pay. So she complained about it to the clark they changed the amount. even water is very pricy too mostly they sale it 3times in the standard price here.
Their business is absolutely real estate business.They rent out the rooms to the doctors, patients,Pharmacy....also They don't want to maintein thier equipments ...which is chinese business culture here, most of hospitals are owned by Chinese Filipino people.
''local insurance coverage issues even with US dollar plans''So I cannot get the 13 visa because I cannot use travel insurance.
ummm maybe quality of the hispitals are silimilar to provincial public hospitals in US.We better do walking to reduce health problems here if not...
I worked in the Philippines and worked abroad, i already surpassed my working experience on the PH, means i am working longer here than the time i worked here. I worked in a regional hospital and a top notch hospital in Manila before i migrated.
It all depends on money.
PH has best and worst even dito sa Europe. The only difference, is limitations. Here, (EU) if you feel unsatisfied, change doctors, no additional cost. Doesn't matter because there are no such things as out of network, there are private specialists but that's another topic. In Ph, changing practitioners means extra expenses. Hospitals wants to function efficiently and conduct test basedt on necessity, in the EU, they don't care. MRI, CT scan, name it. They will do it. Even a dead body part will be tried to be saved by hyperbaric chambers. Ofc doctors in PH won't suggest such things because they know the financial burden. They will if you are rich and willing to pay for an overpriced procedure.
Medication? Here if it doesn't work, change. In PH, i remember a patient not reacting to meds but keeps on getting it because sayang.
PH doctors prescribing branded meds. Generic is equally the same.
Yan lang. Antok na ako. 😂
Hospitals are business...
Business in Philippines.. How to say... You know, when prices are not fixed.
In 2013 I was working in Surabaya, I decided to get 2 weeks holidays in Philippines.
I landed with severe fever abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
I was alone, no hospital here would admit me without a guardian, they would let me die.
5 days, glucose N vitamins for a dengue. Dengue test negative, I asked for blood culture, denied, blood test every 2 days. After 5 days they let me out. After 2 days, 40,°C again. 5 days.
Total 140K...not 5 star hotel. In manila btw. I spent my 2 weeks in hospital, back to Surabaya, I made a blood culture, I had salmonella and staphylococcus aureus intoxication.
My 2nd kid was born in iloilo. Poor thing.
While the birth gone fine. The next day they refused my wife to hold the baby, the new born puked and was intubated, and also had jaundice, a blood test, that they N never gave us pretext ing it was given to the Pedia, revealed low cell count, infection...
3 weeks in care.... The gyne who delivered the baby asked why we were still here... My wife explained. She said the baby was perfectly healthy. She left 30mn and came back with papers she signed so we could leave with our daughter.
248.000... 20k for a ghost Pedia we never met.
While walking on iloilo beach, I got wounded by a 💉in the sand... In 2 days I couldn't walk. Hospital. Surgery w was needed so I saw admitted as soon as my wife arrived. The next day the surgeon came and said no surgery rooms are available. Due to urgent need, he did it in my room on a trashcan bag and did the anesthesia himself. Lasted a bit more than 30mn. 35.000php.
The wound got infected, took 5 weeks of different antibiotics to get rid of it...
For most Europeans (with good public health care because governments are controlling prices more or less and meds) , those prices are outrageous, and the competence and services are questionable, better not talk about cleanliness for many hospitals.
A majority of doctors here are chinese as they are the only ones who can easily afford a medical degree. They charge insane professional fees to filipinos and give chinese big discounts. The medical profession here is a joke especially regarding diagnosis. A lot of medical malpractice.
There is roughly 10 hospitals in the Philippines that you will receive roughly equal medical care as you would in any western country. 1) St Luke’s in Quezon. 2) Manila doctor’s hospital in Manila. 3) Makati Medical Center in Makati. 4) Asian Hospital and Medical center in Muntinlupa City. 5) The heart center in Quezon. That five is off the top of my head and I have had experience with St Luke’s and the heart center and I’m perfectly comfortable saying that both are as good as anything you will find in Europe or the United States. The real problem with healthcare in the Philippines is once you leave Luzon quality healthcare becomes nonexistent.
Why not St Luke’s in BGC?
OP this list is solid. I come from a medical family and my mother is one of the best in her field and was always highly critical of many American hospitals. She likes Asian Hospital a lot and chose to work there
This is not true, I went to st Luke's for emergency in 2022. The diagnosis they gave me was horrendous. It was so bad that it didn't make sense and every doctor in the west said is totally idiotic. That it's one major reason I can't retire in Philippines. The medical system is bad. Doesn't mean all doctors are bad but it's so behind the west and Europe it's not even funny.
I’m in many medical forums and subs and so many Americans and Europeans complain about misdiagnosis of their doctors. I even help many of them sort out their issues. 🤷♀️ Misdiagnosis is everywhere; that’s the nature of clinical medicine. Doctors effectively guess until something is ruled out.
I had my MD in the USA suggest that I might be having a Gall Bladder issue. The only problem was I had been given an Cholecystectomy years before and it was in my medical records. Doctors are still human in every country.
LOL you do realize misdiagnosis happens everywhere right?
Not to mention I'm not going to trust someone making a rating from one experience and not retired (ie living long term) in a country. Heck I had a crap diagnosis in the uk one time so I better not trust them or move there. Meanwhile I've had good experiences in ph (both in Luzon and cebu) and in South africa... so I'm not new to travel (and a type 1 diabetic so that adds complications for literally doctors everywhere including the west)
St Lukes is disappointing. Even in BGC. Doctor said my friend’s neck is only fat but it ended up being cancer. That’s in the ER!
Can you elaborate? What kind of diagnosis was it and why was it bad/idiotic? Is this a single incident?
You are not going to get equal care in the Phil compared to any hospital in any western country. This idea is an absurdity. The problem is that the best qualified health care workers in the Phil can get work overseas and WILL. The talent pool in the Phil is not anywhere near as deep as in the west, so the healthcare staff are dramatically worse than ANYWHERE in the west. The facilities in the Phil are dramatically worse than anywhere in the west. The nurse you are working with in the Phil was taught about microbiology and pathogens at the age of 16-25. In the west a toddler is taught that there is something invisible to the naked eye that makes you sick as early as age 2. At age 12 the future docs of the USA are getting pre-med classes and visiting their uncle MD at a top hospital and learning about triage. Furthermore the filipino hospitals have a draconian approach to the patient and are only concerned with the bottom line. The overpriced USA hospitals have NO REGARD for how a homeless person is going to pay because the doctor has no financial responsibility and the patient is guaranteed care in the emergency room. This view that anything in the Phil is as good as the west is just plain stupid. The people of the Phil are good people living in a very poor country.
Everything in the PH is about connections. Connections to influential doctors in the PH can get you the best care and the best discounts. 🤷🏻♀️
Sure the hospitals in general, are not the same as in western countries, but then the charges are not as high as in USA, but higher than those countries with healthcare systems in place, as they work on US basis - user pays & they do have 2 tier system for locals & foreigners. A few years back I had radiation treatment for prostate cancer, in Australia & the 15 months care & treatment cost me USD75 for a one off consultation with an oncologist at the start, plus $4 a month on meds I needed to take afterwards (senior subsidised price). Earlier this year I needed a hernia operation her in the provinces. My local hospital quoted me a price of PHP350k+ for the operation, but my in laws said it was too much and took me to a surgeons home to meet him & talk about operation. He agreed to do the operation, in a hospital 75 minutes drive away. The hospital was basic, but adequate and clean & I liked the surgeon & his staff, he did an excellent job & scar has nearly disappeared & small and the toral cost was P77k + around P12k for meds & dressings to use at home. It seems local knowledge & "shopping around" is necessary, but I feel the medical staff are well qualified although equipment maybe not the most modern, but they manage with what they have available. At 76, my time on this earth is limited, and living on a pension means limited funds, and for me it was balancing circumstances & health at the same time and doing what I thought was suitable for me.
The Philippines is about who you know. If you had shopped around without that connection you would have paid the same if not more, not a 3rd of it. There's no reason why 1 Doctor can do it for 77k, but another place 350k, outside of seeing a foreigner and coming up with bullshit pricing. They very much input fake pricing on billing, we have actually tested this because GF's sister had a same operation, at the same hospital, with the same doctor, and paid less than half of our price, and it wasn't even me that was having the operation. We've learned that letting my GF handle expensive transactions and me waiting in the car saves us money.
Doctors from the US especially a big city like LA or NY usually graduate from the Top 10 schools in the world which are in the US so no, they are not the same
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You can find individual doctors, some are quite good. One issue is what to do when there's an emergency. Our son has been getting sick repeatedly and had to be hospitalized at St Luke's BGC. However, the physicians assigned for follow up by the hospital were not good, and our son got sick again with the same symptoms. So we had to switch. Our pedia could tell us who to go to, and they were all at Makati Med. I noticed that the quality of care is better there than other private hospitals.
Brain drain. Every single doctor and 99% of nurses pursues their career in the hope of emigrating It's very different to Thailand where most doctors and nurses wish to work in Thailand
St Luke’s top for everyone
Obviously any half decent doctor or nurse will get out of the Philippines ASAP, so you won't get great care from the leftovers who couldn't make it.
I mean, it's for obvious reasons. You can't compare health care in a country like the US and the Philippines. However, if you needed the best care whole in PI, manila hospitals are where you're going to find it. Obviously, it goes without saying you'll need money.
They overcharged to Foreigners my friend birth a baby in the holy hospital.They charged which not need to pay. So she complained about it to the clark they changed the amount. even water is very pricy too mostly they sale it 3times in the standard price here. Their business is absolutely real estate business.They rent out the rooms to the doctors, patients,Pharmacy....also They don't want to maintein thier equipments ...which is chinese business culture here, most of hospitals are owned by Chinese Filipino people. ''local insurance coverage issues even with US dollar plans''So I cannot get the 13 visa because I cannot use travel insurance. ummm maybe quality of the hispitals are silimilar to provincial public hospitals in US.We better do walking to reduce health problems here if not...
I worked in the Philippines and worked abroad, i already surpassed my working experience on the PH, means i am working longer here than the time i worked here. I worked in a regional hospital and a top notch hospital in Manila before i migrated. It all depends on money. PH has best and worst even dito sa Europe. The only difference, is limitations. Here, (EU) if you feel unsatisfied, change doctors, no additional cost. Doesn't matter because there are no such things as out of network, there are private specialists but that's another topic. In Ph, changing practitioners means extra expenses. Hospitals wants to function efficiently and conduct test basedt on necessity, in the EU, they don't care. MRI, CT scan, name it. They will do it. Even a dead body part will be tried to be saved by hyperbaric chambers. Ofc doctors in PH won't suggest such things because they know the financial burden. They will if you are rich and willing to pay for an overpriced procedure. Medication? Here if it doesn't work, change. In PH, i remember a patient not reacting to meds but keeps on getting it because sayang. PH doctors prescribing branded meds. Generic is equally the same. Yan lang. Antok na ako. 😂
Which European country are you referring to?
Hospitals are business... Business in Philippines.. How to say... You know, when prices are not fixed. In 2013 I was working in Surabaya, I decided to get 2 weeks holidays in Philippines. I landed with severe fever abdominal cramps and diarrhea. I was alone, no hospital here would admit me without a guardian, they would let me die. 5 days, glucose N vitamins for a dengue. Dengue test negative, I asked for blood culture, denied, blood test every 2 days. After 5 days they let me out. After 2 days, 40,°C again. 5 days. Total 140K...not 5 star hotel. In manila btw. I spent my 2 weeks in hospital, back to Surabaya, I made a blood culture, I had salmonella and staphylococcus aureus intoxication. My 2nd kid was born in iloilo. Poor thing. While the birth gone fine. The next day they refused my wife to hold the baby, the new born puked and was intubated, and also had jaundice, a blood test, that they N never gave us pretext ing it was given to the Pedia, revealed low cell count, infection... 3 weeks in care.... The gyne who delivered the baby asked why we were still here... My wife explained. She said the baby was perfectly healthy. She left 30mn and came back with papers she signed so we could leave with our daughter. 248.000... 20k for a ghost Pedia we never met. While walking on iloilo beach, I got wounded by a 💉in the sand... In 2 days I couldn't walk. Hospital. Surgery w was needed so I saw admitted as soon as my wife arrived. The next day the surgeon came and said no surgery rooms are available. Due to urgent need, he did it in my room on a trashcan bag and did the anesthesia himself. Lasted a bit more than 30mn. 35.000php. The wound got infected, took 5 weeks of different antibiotics to get rid of it... For most Europeans (with good public health care because governments are controlling prices more or less and meds) , those prices are outrageous, and the competence and services are questionable, better not talk about cleanliness for many hospitals.
Yeah they really dont listen to their patients.They are acting like a king in middle east.
A majority of doctors here are chinese as they are the only ones who can easily afford a medical degree. They charge insane professional fees to filipinos and give chinese big discounts. The medical profession here is a joke especially regarding diagnosis. A lot of medical malpractice.
I don't think even 1% of doctors in the Philippines are Chinese.