MANILA, Philippines — The MVP Group reintroduced yesterday its hospital group as Metro Pacific Health (MPH), with the aim of bringing healthcare more accessible and affordable to Filipinos.

Metro Pacific Health chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the overall goal is to become one of Asia’s most innovative and trusted healthcare providers.

“Today we rename Metro Pacific Hospitals to Metro Pacific Health, symbolizing not only a wider spectrum of investments in health services, but also our enhanced mission of responding to the most pressing concern of our people,” Pangilinan said during the rebranding event yesterday.

The reintroduced MPH, formerly Metro Pacific Hospitals, will expand the group’s menu of services, including digitized healthcare systems such as apps for teleconsultations but also more affordable services, he said.

“We will find efficiencies to make our services affordable. We will not just provide quality hospital care; we will make our services accessible to a greater number of our people – by building primary care chains and deploying digital apps for teleconsultations,” Pangilinan said.

The reintroduction of the MVP Group’s hospital group comes on the heels of a two-year debilitating COVID-19 pandemic, which has put the group at the forefront of private sector efforts against the health crisis.

Pangilinan said the recent pandemic has shown the public how a “vibrant private sector can augment government efforts, especially during a crisis.“

MPH chief executive officer Harish Pillai said some of the new and innovative measures the group would introduce are remote patient monitoring, electronic health record systems, hospital-at-home programs and other opportunities that will revolutionize healthcare.

MPH president Augie Palisoc Jr. said that in just 15 years, the group has become the largest private hospital group in the country with 19 hospitals in its portfolio.

He said the company would continue to be on the lookout for hospitals to add to its portfolio, with an aspirational target to have a portfolio of at least 30 hospitals in the next 15 to 20 years.

Its portfolio also includes two healthcare colleges, 20 outpatient care centers, six provisional cancer centers. Total capacity of MPH at present is 3,800 beds, with a pool of 10,000 doctors and 15,000 employees.

It serves approximately four million patients a year.

Asked if there are any plans for an initial public offering for the hospital group, Pangilinan said the decision, should that happen, would come from the board and the shareholders.