Healthcare guides for the Philippines

Plain-language guides to health centers, rural health units, hospitals, pharmacies and PhilHealth in the Philippines: what each facility does, what it costs, and how to find the one nearest you.

HIV Testing in the Philippines: Free Testing Sites, Social Hygiene Clinics, PrEP and Confidentiality

HIV Testing in the Philippines: Free Testing Sites, Social Hygiene Clinics, PrEP and Confidentiality

The DOH recorded 4,633 new HIV cases in the first quarter of 2026, about 51 a day, and estimates 288,000 Filipinos are living with HIV, only 55 percent of them diagnosed. Testing is free, voluntary and confidential at city social hygiene clinics, DOH treatment hubs and community centers such as LoveYourself, and anyone aged 15 or older can be tested without a parent's consent under Republic Act 11166. This guide covers where to test, what the law guarantees, PrEP and PEP, what happens after a reactive result, and PhilHealth's ₱58,500-a-year treatment package.

October 7, 2026 · 5 min read

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TB Testing and Free Treatment at Health Centers (TB-DOTS) in the Philippines

TB Testing and Free Treatment at Health Centers (TB-DOTS) in the Philippines

The Philippines has the world's third-largest TB burden: 6.8 percent of the 10.7 million cases in 2024, about 625 per 100,000 people, and an estimated 98 deaths a day. Testing and the full course of treatment are free at rural health units and city health centers under the National TB Program, and PhilHealth pays accredited DOTS centres ₱7,800 per case. This guide covers symptoms, where to get tested, what the six-month regimen involves, what the law says about TB and your job, and the 2030 targets.

Free Vaccines at Health Centers: The National Immunization Schedule and Where to Get Them

Free Vaccines at Health Centers: The National Immunization Schedule and Where to Get Them

Every vaccine on the DOH National Immunization Program is free at rural health units, city health centers and barangay health stations: BCG and hepatitis B at birth, pentavalent, oral and injectable polio and pneumococcal vaccine at 6, 10 and 14 weeks, MMR at 9 and 12 months, and measles-rubella, tetanus-diphtheria and HPV through the school-based programme. This guide sets out the 2026 schedule by age, who qualifies, catch-up doses, adult vaccines, what the same shots cost privately, and why the 45 percent rise in measles cases in early 2026 makes the free schedule worth finishing.

Giving Birth in the Philippines: Health Center, Lying-In Clinic or Hospital, and the PhilHealth Maternity Package

Giving Birth in the Philippines: Health Center, Lying-In Clinic or Hospital, and the PhilHealth Maternity Package

Prenatal check-ups are free at your rural health unit or city health center, and since 30 April 2026 PhilHealth pays the whole cost of a low-risk normal delivery in a ward: ₱14,000 at an accredited lying-in clinic or birthing home, ₱29,000 in a hospital, and ₱58,000 to ₱62,000 for a caesarean, with no balance billing in basic accommodation. This guide compares the three settings, lists what PhilHealth pays and what you still pay, and covers high-risk referral, birth registration, maternity leave and breastfeeding rights.

Generic Medicines in the Philippines: The Generics Act, TGP, and How to Pay Less

Generic Medicines in the Philippines: The Generics Act, TGP, and How to Pay Less

A generic is the same molecule at a fraction of the price: on 16 September 2026 amlodipine 5 mg cost ₱2.00 a tablet at The Generics Pharmacy and ₱5.75 at Southstar Drug, against ₱23.00 for Norvasc. The Generics Act obliges doctors to prescribe by generic name and drugstores to show you every cheaper option, and the Cheaper Medicines Act lets the President cap prices. This guide covers the law, the price caps, real chain prices, and the PhilHealth and discount routes to paying less.

Senior Citizen and PWD Discounts on Medicines, Lab Tests and Hospital Bills: How to Claim Them

Senior Citizen and PWD Discounts on Medicines, Lab Tests and Hospital Bills: How to Claim Them

Under Republic Act 9994 and Republic Act 10754, senior citizens and persons with disability get a 20% discount and exemption from the 12% VAT on medicines, medical and dental services, laboratory and diagnostic fees and doctors' professional fees, in private and public facilities, with the OSCA or PWD ID. On a ₱1,000 VAT-inclusive medicine the price falls to ₱714.29. Here is the computation, the rules on vitamins and online purchases, how it works with PhilHealth, and where to complain.

HMO vs PhilHealth vs Private Health Insurance in the Philippines: What Each Covers and 2026 Prices

HMO vs PhilHealth vs Private Health Insurance in the Philippines: What Each Covers and 2026 Prices

PhilHealth is mandatory and costs 5% of basic salary, ₱500 to ₱5,000 a month in 2026; it pays fixed case rates in any hospital, free ward care in DOH hospitals, free primary care under YAKAP and Z benefits for catastrophic illness. An HMO fills the balance in private hospitals up to an annual limit, from about ₱1,000 a year for emergency-only cover to five figures for a full plan. Private health insurance pays cash on diagnosis or per hospital day. Here is how they compare and who needs which.

City Health Offices in the Philippines: What They Do, Services, Hours, and the Offices People Search For

City Health Offices in the Philippines: What They Do, Services, Hours, and the Offices People Search For

A City Health Office is the city government's health department under the Local Government Code, headed by a licensed physician. It runs the city's health centers, gives free consultations, immunisation, prenatal care, TB treatment, family planning and anti-rabies vaccine, and issues the health certificates food handlers need and the sanitary permits businesses need. This guide lists the services, typical hours and fees, and links the offices people search for most.

Government Hospitals in the Philippines: DOH Regional Medical Centers, Malasakit Centers and How Charity Care Works

Government Hospitals in the Philippines: DOH Regional Medical Centers, Malasakit Centers and How Charity Care Works

Government hospitals in the Philippines come in tiers: 87 hospitals run by the Department of Health, including the regional medical centers and four specialty centers, plus provincial, district and city hospitals run by local governments. In a ward bed of a DOH hospital a PhilHealth member pays nothing under zero balance billing, and the Malasakit Center in every DOH hospital puts PhilHealth, DSWD, PCSO and DOH medical assistance under one roof. Here is how to use them.

What to Do in a Medical Emergency in the Philippines: 911, Ambulances, ERs and the No-Deposit Rule

What to Do in a Medical Emergency in the Philippines: 911, Ambulances, ERs and the No-Deposit Rule

Dial 911, the free national emergency hotline that has routed police, fire and medical calls through one number since September 2025, or Red Cross 143, then go to the nearest hospital with an emergency room. Under Republic Act 10932 no hospital may demand a deposit before emergency treatment, and PhilHealth now pays for ER care that does not end in admission. This guide covers the numbers, the ambulance options, the warning signs of stroke and heart attack, and poison control.

Hospital Levels in the Philippines: Level 1, 2 and 3 Explained, and What Each Can Treat

Hospital Levels in the Philippines: Level 1, 2 and 3 Explained, and What Each Can Treat

The Department of Health licenses every Philippine hospital as Level 1, 2 or 3 under Administrative Order 2012-0012. Level 1 has a doctor in charge, an operating room, maternity ward, laboratory, X-ray and pharmacy; Level 2 adds board-certified specialists, an ICU and NICU; Level 3 adds residency training, dialysis, a blood bank and interventional radiology. Every hospital must post its level at the entrance.

How to Check if a Drugstore, Distributor or Manufacturer Is FDA-Licensed in the Philippines

How to Check if a Drugstore, Distributor or Manufacturer Is FDA-Licensed in the Philippines

Every drugstore, distributor and manufacturer of medicines in the Philippines must hold an FDA License to Operate, and every product a Certificate of Product Registration. Both can be checked in a minute on the FDA Verification Portal. Here is what the terms mean, how to search, and what to do when something is missing.

Diagnostic Centers and Lab Tests in the Philippines: Common Tests, Typical Prices and How to Choose

Diagnostic Centers and Lab Tests in the Philippines: Common Tests, Typical Prices and How to Choose

A complete blood count costs ₱180 at the Philippine General Hospital's outpatient rate and several times that at a private diagnostic chain, and 13 common tests are free under PhilHealth YAKAP. Here is what the usual tests are for, what they cost where, and how to choose a licensed laboratory.

Pharmacy Chains in the Philippines Compared: Mercury Drug, Watsons, Southstar, Rose, TGP and the Regional Chains

Pharmacy Chains in the Philippines Compared: Mercury Drug, Watsons, Southstar, Rose, TGP and the Regional Chains

Six chains account for most of the Philippines' drugstore counters: Mercury Drug (1,200+ stores), The Generics Pharmacy (2,100+), Watsons (1,166), Southstar (716), Rose Pharmacy (400+) and the regional chains. Here is how they differ on coverage, stock, price, hours and delivery.

PhilHealth YAKAP: How to Register and What It Covers at Your Health Center

PhilHealth YAKAP: How to Register and What It Covers at Your Health Center

YAKAP is PhilHealth's primary care benefit, the upgraded Konsulta: free consultations at a registered clinic, 13 laboratory tests, six cancer screening tests on referral, and up to ₱20,000 a year of medicines per member and per dependant. Here is who qualifies, how to register and how to use it.

How to Book an Appointment at a Health Center or City Health Office, Online and Walk-In

How to Book an Appointment at a Health Center or City Health Office, Online and Walk-In

Most Philippine health centers are still walk-in, first come first served, but Makati, Quezon City and Manila now run online queueing and appointment systems. Here is how each works, what to bring, and how to get seen faster where there is no booking at all.

Social Hygiene Clinics in the Philippines: Services, Confidentiality and Where They Are

Social Hygiene Clinics in the Philippines: Services, Confidentiality and Where They Are

Social hygiene clinics are the city health office units that test and treat sexually transmitted infections and HIV, free and confidential by law. With 4,633 new HIV cases in the first quarter of 2026 alone, here is what they do, who can walk in, and where to find one.

What a Rural Health Unit Offers for Free: Services, Hours and Who Can Use It

What a Rural Health Unit Offers for Free: Services, Hours and Who Can Use It

A rural health unit is the government clinic every municipality runs, and most of what it does is free: doctor consultations, childhood vaccines, prenatal care and delivery, TB treatment, anti-rabies shots, family planning, and through PhilHealth YAKAP, laboratory tests and up to ₱20,000 a year of medicines. Here is the full list and how to use it.

Public vs Private Hospitals in the Philippines: How to Choose and What PhilHealth Covers

Public vs Private Hospitals in the Philippines: How to Choose and What PhilHealth Covers

A ward bed in a DOH hospital can now cost a PhilHealth member nothing; a private room in a private hospital can cost hundreds of thousands. Here is how the two systems differ, what the hospital levels mean, what PhilHealth pays in each, and how to decide where to go.

How to Find a Pharmacy Near You in the Philippines, Including 24-Hour Pharmacies, and Check Its FDA Licence

How to Find a Pharmacy Near You in the Philippines, Including 24-Hour Pharmacies, and Check Its FDA Licence

The Philippines has more than 5,000 chain drugstores plus thousands of independents, but not every shop selling medicine is licensed. Here is how to find the nearest pharmacy, which chains keep 24-hour branches, what the law requires of a drugstore, and how to check its licence in a minute.

Barangay Health Center, Rural Health Unit, City Health Office: What Each One Is and What It Offers

Barangay Health Center, Rural Health Unit, City Health Office: What Each One Is and What It Offers

The Philippines has about 26,000 barangay health stations and 2,700 rural health units and city health offices, and most people are entitled to free care at one of them. Here is what each level is for, who works there, what it costs and how to find yours.