AC Health expands health technology portfolio, invests in AIDE app

Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) has expanded its health technology portfolio with an investment in AIDE, a home health application, which provides health services in the comfort of patients' homes.

The venture with AIDE is part of AC Health's strategy to invest in innovative health technology solutions. AC Health President and CEO, Paolo Borromeo, said that AIDE's model is in line with the company's vision to improve access to affordable and quality healthcare services for more Filipinos.

"Aside from developing our own technology solutions, we are also on the lookout for emerging start-ups and entrepreneurs who can disrupt the healthcare industry. AIDE is an excellent platform to connect patients with health providers, and we think home health will be one of the next game changers," Borromeo said.

Through the AIDE mobile app, patients can book doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to render healthcare services in their homes. Services include medical consultations, nursing care, physical therapy, caregiving, lab extraction and interpretation, and even veterinary care.

AIDE was founded by the Bugayong siblings, Paolo, Pamela and Patrick, who come from diverse backgrounds in finance, sales, and medicine, respectively. AIDE's Chief Executive Officer, Paolo Bugayong, said that partnership with AC Health will help them expand their reach to serve more Filipinos at home.

"Our goal is to serve both patients and medical professionals. For patients, we offer convenient home health care booking, while for medical professionals, we are offering an innovate cost-effective avenue for their services. We aim to provide healthcare solutions amidst traffic and long lines, without needing brick and mortar," Bugayong added.

Earlier this year, AC Health established its health technology arm called Vigos, which develops its own products, such as an Electronic Medical Records and Clinic Information System (Vigos EMR), which is being used across all FamilyDOC clinics. Vigos also launched Vigos CARE, an integrated corporate health solutions provider allowing companies and employees to maximize their health benefits.

In February 2017, AC Health invested in an FDA-licensed online pharmacy, MedGrocer, which offers medicine delivery and corporate medicine benefits management.

"We believe AIDE is complementary to our other investments as it helps us extend our reach beyond our retail clinics and pharmacies. We hope to expand our health technology portfolio further because it is both an enabler and integrator of the healthcare ecosystem that we are building at AC Health," said AC Health's Chief Digital Officer, Christian Besler.