Close to 7,000 residents have benefitted from the free eye treatment at the Ospital ng Makati Eye Center since the city government launched the project six months ago.
“I am proud that the Eye Center has ably fulfilled its mandate of helping Yellow Card members get the best eye care without having to spend a single peso. More importantly, they don’t have to be referred to other hospitals because they can now get the treatment they need right here in Makati,” said Mayor Abigail Binay.
Binay said the eye treatment facility, located at the 6th floor of OsMak in Barangay Pembo, was able to assist a total of 6,672 patients since it was opened on July 21, 2017.
The facility at the city-run premier tertiary hospital averaged 1,000 patients per month, according to its records.
It was established in line with the city’s public health program expansion, particularly for the benefit of more than 200,000 members of the Makati Health Plus Program, better known as the Yellow Card.
Binay noted that in the past, the Department of Ophthalmology used to refer patients who needed laser procedures as well as visual field tests to other hospitals because they did not have the necessary equipment. The opening of the Eye Center, however, has allowed OsMak’s eye doctors to treat more patients in-house.
The Eye Center has the following machines: Fundus Photography Fluorescein Angiography, Visual Fields/Humphrey Perimetry, 532 nm Laser, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), A Scan and B Scan Ultrasonography, Slit Lamp with Digital Camera, as well as a Yag Laser.
The facility can accommodate about 100 patients per day, covering a wide range of services which include cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, among others.
Based on records, the Eye Center had served 1,278 patients in July 2017; 1,399 in August; 1,115 in September; 1,103 in October; 1,134 in November; and 643 in December.
The most common eye problems found in adults were: Cataract, Dysfunctional Tear Syndrome/Dry Eye Disease, and Allergic Conjunctivitis. At the same time, children and teens were treated for Error of Refraction, Conjunctivitis, and Astigmatism.
Apart from these problems, the Eye Center is also equipped to address: General Ophthalmology; Emergency Ophthalmic Services; Treatment of Eye Infections; Treatment of Diseases of the Cornea; Treatment of Eye Trauma; Cataract in the Young; Retinal Diseases; Laser Treatment of Retinal Diseases; Glaucoma and Laser Surgery; Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the Eye; Pediatric Eye Surgery and Eye Alignment (Strabismus).
More than state-of the art equipment, OsMak’s Eye Center also boasts of skilled surgeons, consultants, and residents from the Department of Ophthalmology.
The center sub-specializes in treating Cornea and External Diseases, Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Glaucoma, Low Vision and Rehabilitation, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Plastics, Lacrimals, and Orbit, Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus, Medical and Surgical Retina as well as Uveitis and Ocular Immunology.
Yellow Card holders can also go to the Eye Center for Refraction, Biometry, Optical Coherence Tomography, Fundus Photography, Fluorescein Angiography, Visual Fields/Humphrey Perimetry and Ocular Ultrasonography: B-scan.
The Eye Center is run by OsMak’s Department of Ophthalmology, which was first formed in 1988.