Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) wants its digital healthcare startup mWell to contribute to the conglomerate’s revenues through synergies with its other business, such as hospitals and telecommunications.
MPIC Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said mWell is intended to become a “revenue center for Metro Pacific” and to complement the health services that are delivered, traditionally, through its hospitals network.
“We are prepared to support it and to propagate its use extensively so that it is accessible to many Filipinos and, at the same time to price the service that it is affordable including the insurance package,” Pangilinan said.
MPIC CFO and risk and sustainability officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla said its mWell app is seen to redefine not only telemedicine but also the entire healthcare landscape in the country. The app showcases its holistic approach to telemedicine—from doctor consultation, e-pharmacy, emergency services and home care—to fitness and nutrition programs.
Beyond patient care, it has also designed its own electronic medical records and clinic management system for partner-doctors.
Pangilinan said patients’ medical records are protected by privacy laws such that even doctors will need the patient’s permission to access medical records and permission is also required to share such data.
“Metro Pacific Group’s mWell is the Philippines’ first fully integrated health app which brings together experts in technology, medicine, wellness, and healthcare in one sustainable living ecosystem,” Pangilinan said.
“This high- performing platform gives access to quality healthcare and empowers our countrymen to be in control of their health as they rebuild their lives coming out of the pandemic.”
Revilla said mWell is the first health app available globally to migrant workers or OFWs and the first to offer the most affordable telemedicine with free accident insurance package via the Healthsavers Plan.
“We were able to come up with these firsts in terms of product features, innovations not only for patients but also for doctors. We believe that uplifting the lives of Filipinos is a prerequisite to national progress. That’s why mWell helps uplift lives by providing access to better health, which after all is a basic right,” Revilla said.
“It is both a digital health service and an advocacy because at the heart of mWell firsts is our mission to bring healthcare closer to more Filipinos as we make health and wellness available and accessible to anyone, anytime, anywhere.”
Another first to be launched soon is the mWell Wellness Wearable. This is designed to democratize and empower more Filipinos by making wellness wearables more affordable especially in regional areas.
Another telemedicine innovation in the pipeline is the mWell kiosk to be used by local government units for their medical missions.