East Avenue Medical Center recognised for outpatient service initiative at Healthcare Asia Awards 2026

The hospital won for its dedicated ambulatory surgery hub that improved scheduling and reduced inpatient pressure.

East Avenue Medical Center received an accolade in the Outpatient Service Initiative of the Year - Philippines category at the Healthcare Asia Awards 2026. This is for establishing its Ambulatory Care Surgery Center (ACSC) within its 1,000-bed tertiary government hospital in Quezon City. The project responded to limited operating room capacity and rising demand for elective surgery, with only 22% of patients on the elective waitlist accommodated each month due to emergency case prioritisation and an inpatient-focused model.

The Ambulatory Care Surgery Center operates within the hospital’s Ambulatory Care Service building and is fully integrated with diagnostic, blood bank, and critical care units. Instead of building a separate facility, existing infrastructure and teams were reorganised to support a dedicated day-surgery pathway. The centre operates on weekdays from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm for 240 days annually, allowing procedures such as hepatobiliary, breast, hernia, and other clean elective cases to be performed outside inpatient operating rooms.

A single multidisciplinary team manages referral intake, preoperative assessment, patient education, surgery scheduling, and discharge. This structure reduces manual processing delays, overlapping bookings, and discharge bottlenecks that previously extended waiting times. Real-time dashboards monitor queue duration, case volume, and financial performance to support ongoing review. Standardised clinical pathways and operating procedures guide case selection and perioperative management.

Financial analysis projects increasing surgical volume from 2,400 cases in 2024 to 3,840 cases by 2027 as more specialties join the platform. The project required an initial capital investment of PHP56.4m, covering PHP13.3m for infrastructure spanning 274.56 square metres and PHP43.17m for equipment. Operating margins are projected to increase from 30.75% in 2024 to 57.28% by 2027, while net margins are expected to rise from 27.68% to 51.55% during the same period. The payback period is estimated at approximately five years.

Expansion plans include orthopaedics, urology, gynaecology, dental, and plastic surgery services, supported by electronic health records integration and data analytics.

Healthcare Asia Awards is an awards programme focused on acknowledging exceptional hospitals across Asia that redefine the standards of excellence in the healthcare industry. It proudly shines a spotlight on Asian hospitals that consistently go beyond conventional boundaries to provide top-tier patient care and have a lasting impact on their local communities.

The Healthcare Asia Awards is presented by Healthcare Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2027 awards programme and be acclaimed for your organisation's remarkable initiatives and contributions to the healthcare industry, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez-Difuntorum at [email protected].