ILOILO City – With only about 2,500 cardiologists serving over 112 million Filipinos — most concentrated in Metro Manila — the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) and the Department of Health (DOH) are moving to bridge the gap in specialized cardiac care across the country through new regional facilities, expanded benefits, and training programs.
Sixty percent of cardiologists practice in the capital, leaving many provinces with little to no access to advanced treatments such as angioplasty and bypass surgery.
To correct this imbalance, PHA national president Dr. Walid Amil said the DOH will establish 17 regional heart centers, each housed in a DOH regional hospital and equipped for advanced cardiac procedures.
“Once the facility is there, that would be one way for cardiologists to stay and practice in that region,” Amil said during a gathering here, noting the initiative would decentralize services, reduce congestion at the Philippine Heart Center, and encourage new graduates to serve in underserved areas.
The effort complements PhilHealth’s expanded benefit package for ischemic heart disease–acute myocardial infarction (IHD-AMI), which Amil described as a “successful program” already making an impact less than a year after its rollout.
In Western Visayas, the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) serves as the main cardiac hub for Iloilo, the Negros Island Region, and Palawan.
WVMC Cardiovascular Center head Dr. Mae Dagooc credited the PhilHealth Z Benefit Package for supporting patients, while PHA–Western Visayas Panay vice president Dr. Rafael Hilado highlighted that coronary artery bypass surgeries and certain congenital heart defect treatments are covered under the DOH’s No Balance Billing program.
To sustain these reforms, PHA reaffirmed its backing for the PhilCardio Registry — the country’s first nationwide cardiovascular disease (CVD) registry launched in July 2024 — with WVMC as one of its eight research hubs.
“The registry will be the precursor to change — to enact effective initiatives, policies, and start treatment procedures,” Amil said, stressing the need to pair data collection with policy action.
The PHA is also strengthening fellowship training programs to produce “home-grown” cardiologists. WVMC, operating as a heart center since 2018, was accredited this year as one of 26 PHA-accredited Cardiology Training Institutions.
Dr. Ma. Sylvia Therese De Pili, PHA–Western Visayas Panay president, said the program is crucial to addressing the region’s shortage, with only 67 cardiologists — including adult and pediatric specialists, surgeons, and anesthesiologists — and gaps in certain sub-specialties like electrophysiology.
Amil underscored the long-term goal: “From Batanes to Jolo, together with the government’s improved health programs, we aim for one cardiologist, not only per region, but in every city across the country.”/PN