Leading tertiary medical services provider The Medical City (TMC) launched the Center for Kidney Health and Transplantation (CKHT) as its response to the increasing health problems brought about by kidney disease in the Philippines.
TMC department of nephrology section head Dr. Roberto Tanchanco, M.D. said that kidney disease continues to be a heavy burden for patients and the society. He said that every year, more than 30,000 Filipinos develop end-stage renal disease that need either transplantation or dialysis.
According to Dr. Tanchanco, dialysis procedures accounted for the most number of health claims filed with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in 2014. Since that year, dialysis remained to be among the top procedures with filed claims, with diabetes being the most common cause of end-stage renal disease, followed by hypertension.
“The Center shows our commitment to help reduce the rising incidence and burden of kidney disease,” Dr. Tanchanco said during the launch of CKHT. “We set up the center where all the services pertinent to the delivery of high-quality renal service may be availed of by all our patients.”
CKHT is a collaborative effort led by the Adult Nephrology Section of the Department of Medicine, the Pediatric Nephrology Section of the Department of Pediatrics and the Urology Section of the Department of Surgery. The team is composed of various health-care professionals that include, aside from nephrologists and urologists, fellows in training, residents, interns and clerks, dialysis nurses and technicians, nutritionists, pharmacists, and social workers.
“We proceed in the spirit of teamwork,” Dr. Tanchanco emphasized in his speech. “We believe more things are accomplished when people from different fields bring together their expertise and perspective to achieve a common goal, which is to care for the health of patients at risk of, or already have, kidney disease.”
“Kidney disease is a silent killer,” the doctor continued. “Anyone can definitely get kidney disease anytime.”
Founded by Philippine Society of Nephrology founding president Dr. Filoteo Alano, TMC has always been a pioneering and leading center for renal care in the Philippines. Currently, the center is the only medical facility in the country that automatically reports Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR), the test used to check how well the kidneys are working, based on the combination of Creatinine and Cystatin C, which is more accurate than GFR based on Creatinine alone.
Among the services offered by TMC are assessment of kidney function and difficult to treat hypertension, chronic kidney disease nutrition management and counselling and treatment and management of acute kidney injury and renal replacement therapy. The therapy includes hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration (HDF), peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplant.
The Center for Kidney Health and Transplantation is located at the 2nd Floor, Podium Bldg., The Medical City, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Call 988-1000 ext. 6971 for details.
CONAN Daily 