The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation in Western Visayas Region (PhilHealth-6) continues to campaign for members to register and avail of the Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama (KonSulTa) package for expanded primary care benefits.

“Konsulta package is for early disease detection and prevention. If the primary care benefit package is duly maximized we are looking at our members being more aware of their health conditions,” Janimhe C. Jalbuna, PhilHealth-6 public affairs unit head, said in an interview on Monday.

As of April this year, some 1,446,795 out of the 2,409,911 target in the region have registered for the program.

However, only 33,035 have their first patient encounter (FPE) or have sought their first consultation with accredited health providers.

Jalbuna said they always explain to patients not to wait for their disease to progress and instead opt for early detection for appropriate intervention.

The outpatient package includes consultation, 13 laboratory examinations, and 21 drugs and medicines with prescriptions, which are free for members and their dependents.

On June 3, an additional 80 members had their successful first patient encounter during the KonSulTa registration and profiling at the Iloilo Convention Center simultaneous with the nationwide summit as part of PhilHealth’s 28th-anniversary celebration.

The registration was joined by four accredited health facilities in the city, including the newly accredited Molo and Mandurriao health offices of Iloilo City.

“It was more on health profiling and health screening. They were consulted by medical doctors, so they availed of the benefit,” Jalbuna said.

As of April 30, PhilHealth has accredited 122 KonSulTa providers in the region while 13 are in process. Each provider is expected to cater to around 20,000 members and dependents. (PNA)