DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, October 4 (PIA) -- The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) here has urged service providers to register with its Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama (Konsulta) Package to provide members access to primary care facility services.

The Konsulta Package is a comprehensive outpatient benefit package mandated by the Universal Health Care Law.

This aims to protect the health of the public against chronic illnesses, avoid complications through early detection, and provide affordable drugs and medicines.

Philhealth Social Insurance Officer Ferlyn Catacutan said there are only a few accredited Konsulta providers in the province that can cater to PhilHealth members who are seeking free medical consultation.

Only eight of the 14 Rural health Units and two private clinics in the province have registered under the program, said Catacutan.

The accredited RHUs are Dauin, San Jose, Amlan, Bais City Health Office, Mabinay RHU 1 and 2, Tayasan, and La Libertad.

The two private clinics that have been accredited to accept Philhealth members under the Konsulta Package program are Diagnostic Care & Laboratory Services (Diagcare) and Nuiqcare Clinic (Dr. Delwin A. Nuique, Jr.).

The other health units that have not yet registered are Minaba, Bayawan City, Bacong, Valencia, Dumaguete City Health Office, Sibulan, and Pamplona.

All 11 public hospitals in the province have not yet registered with PhilHealth for the Konsulta package program, Catacutan added.

“We continuously urge our providers to have themselves accredited in the Konsulta Package to sufficiently serve the whole province,”

Catacutan said during the recent Association of Negros Oriental Public Information Officers (ANOPIO) conference.

Application for Konsulta accreditation is open to non-hospital facilities such as RHUs, ambulatory surgical clinics, and infirmaries.

All accredited Level 1, 2, and 3, public and private hospitals are encouraged to be accredited for the program.

Application forms and self-assessment tools can be submitted to the Local Health Insurance Office.

The PhilHealth Konsulta Package covers preventive care including consultations, health risks screening and assessment, 13 laboratory tests, and 21 maintenance drugs and medicines.

The medicines include antimicrobial, fluid and electrolytes, anti-asthma, anti-dyslipidemia, anti-hypertensive, anti-thrombotics, and antihistamine.

The package also includes laboratory tests.  (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental)