Manila: The Department of Health (DOH) and San Miguel Corporation (SMC) have inaugurated a second Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Services (BUCAS) Center, aimed at closing healthcare accessibility gaps for impoverished communities.
According to Philippines News Agency, the newly established BUCAS center is situated at the San Miguel Foundation’s Better World Smokey Mountain facility in Manila City. It operates in collaboration with the Tondo Medical Center. This development follows the opening of the first BUCAS center in Cubao, Quezon City, which began operations last year in partnership with the Quirino Memorial Medical Center.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa highlighted that the BUCAS Centers are central to the DOH’s ’28 for 28 by 28′ initiative. This initiative aims to create 28 urgent care centers to serve 28 million Filipinos lacking adequate access to quality healthcare by the year 2028.
The BUCAS Centers offer free consultations, with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) covering most laboratory tests. For services not covered by PhilHealth, patients can either pay out-of-pocket or seek assistance from Malasakit Centers.
SMC chairman and CEO Ramon Ang emphasized the initiative’s impact, stating, “This is the kind of impact we want to make: help patients, especially the poor, recover faster, return to their daily lives, and thereby strengthen communities.”
The DOH has successfully launched 50 BUCAS Centers across the nation, all based in public hospitals or facilities of private sector partners. SMC is considering converting its community clinics across various provinces into BUCAS Centers, contingent on identifying suitable partner hospitals.
