We write in response to Mr. Lito Gagni’s column entitled “Pfizer discount card should be for all,” published on June 30, 2009.

We at Pfizer appreciate and share Mr. Gagni’s concern for patient well-being and had hoped that he contacted us before he wrote and published his column that spoke about our very own patient program. He also does not appear to have spoken with any of the 1.9 million Filipino beneficiaries of our Sulit Patient Care program who would have easily helped correct his misleading and inaccurate data.

We think Filipinos need accurate information and, of course, better health.  That said, we wish to set the record straight:

The Sulit Patient Care Program is the longest-running and most comprehensive patient-care program in the country, proven to help patients achieve better health outcomes. The value of the program is the combination of the discount and patient education that it provides—a formula that has proven to be highly effective in improving patients’ health in ways that discount programs alone do not.

The Sulit program has, to date, helped 1.9 million patients live longer, healthier lives in partnership with more than 14,000 doctors and 1,800 drugstores nationwide. And we are about to extend its benefits to millions more patients in partnership with the Government Service Insurance System and other major health-care providers who share the view that the program is good for the Philippines.

Pfizer has not taken away the senior citizens’ discount. On the contrary, the Sulit program offers to senior citizens, and all patients enrolled in it, discounts ranging from 25 percent to 60 percent. This is even higher than the 20-percent discount that senior citizens outside the program enjoy.  More important, senior citizens, like other program members, receive useful patient information that helps them understand their disease and manage their conditions, thus achieving better health outcomes.

Pfizer in the Philippines strictly adheres to all applicable local and international laws and codes on data privacy. Patient information gathered through the program is used to ensure that  patients receive the health information they need to better understand and manage their specific health condition. All patients are informed of and consent to these privacy conditions.

At Pfizer, we recognize that good health is more than just medication, and we’re doing our part to build a healthier Philippines. We are committed to meeting the country’s health-care needs by making our high-quality medicines available to patients from all walks of life.

We hope that Mr. Gagni appreciates the above clarifications so that in the future, accurate information on the program is written—after all, people’s health is at stake.

Albert G. Mateo Jr.

Country Manager

Anthony C. Leachon

Pfizer Medical Director