Pre-Employment Medical Exam in the Philippines: Where to Get One, What It Costs and What Fit-to-Work Means

Quick Answer: A standard pre-employment medical exam in the Philippines covers a physical examination, complete blood count, urinalysis, fecalysis, chest X-ray and drug test, published at ₱1,000 by one Metro Manila clinic group in 2026. The drug test must be done at a government forensic laboratory or a DOH-accredited drug testing laboratory. HIV testing as a condition of employment is unlawful, and hepatitis B screening may not be made a prerequisite to hiring.

A standard pre-employment medical exam in the Philippines is a physical examination plus a complete blood count, urinalysis, fecalysis, a chest X-ray and a drug test. Patient First, which runs clinics in Makati and Quezon City, publishes that exact package at ₱1,000 with results in 24 to 48 hours (Patient First, checked September 2026). Most clinics do not publish a price at all, so the number you are quoted will depend on the provider and on what the employer adds. This guide covers what a PEME includes, who pays for it, the drug test rules, what fit to work means, and the tests an employer may not lawfully insist on. Browse clinics, diagnostic centers and medical laboratories on Healthcare Philippines.

What is in a pre-employment medical exam?

There is no single legal list. The usual core, sometimes called the basic five, is what Patient First itemises in its published package, and employers in BPO, healthcare, food handling, manufacturing and construction add to it according to the hazards of the job.

All three prices are from the provider’s own online shop and were checked in September 2026. Common add-ons are an ECG, fasting blood sugar, a lipid profile, hepatitis B surface antigen, audiometry for noisy workplaces and a visual acuity test. A food handler or anyone applying for a city health or sanitary permit will usually need the fecalysis and chest X-ray whatever else the employer asks for, which is why that package exists separately. For what individual tests involve, see the guide to diagnostic centers and lab tests.

Who pays, and is the annual exam compulsory?

Occupational health is an employer duty, not an employee expense. Republic Act 11058, the occupational safety and health law, lists among the duties of every employer the obligation to “comply with OSH standards including training, medical examination” and, where necessary, protective equipment. Its implementing rules, DOLE Department Order 198-18, require covered workplaces to keep qualified occupational health personnel and facilities in proportion to the number of workers and the hazard involved, and to file an annual medical report with DOLE. An employer that cannot run its own clinic may contract a hospital or clinic within five kilometres and 25 minutes’ travel of the workplace.

Two practical points follow. The annual medical examination sits inside that employer obligation, so a company running one is complying with the law rather than doing a favour. And where the requirement is the employer’s own, the cost sits with the business as part of its safety and health programme. Applicants are often asked to shoulder the pre-employment exam and claim it back on hiring; that is a matter of company policy rather than a statutory entitlement, so ask before you pay.

Where does the drug test have to be done?

Not just anywhere. Section 36 of Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, says authorised drug testing shall be done by a government forensic laboratory or by a drug testing laboratory accredited and monitored by the Department of Health. The testing has to use two methods, a screening test and a confirmatory test for any positive screen, and the DOH is directed to set the price with accredited centers. A drug test certificate from an accredited center is valid for one year from the date of issue and can be used for other purposes within that period.

The same section covers employees as well as applicants: officers and employees of public and private offices undergo random drug testing under the company work rules, and the cost of that random testing is borne by the employer. A positive result is dealt with administratively and can be a ground for suspension or dismissal. Ask the clinic for its DOH accreditation before you pay, in the same way you would check a pharmacy licence, and keep the original certificate because employers rarely accept a photocopy.

What may an employer not require?

• HIV testing. RA 11166, the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act, defines compulsory HIV testing to include “the use of testing as a prerequisite for employment”. Written consent is required before any HIV test, and compulsory testing is allowed only in three situations, none of which is hiring. Rejecting a job application on the basis of actual, perceived or suspected HIV status is a punishable discriminatory act under Section 49. Free and confidential testing options are set out in the guide to HIV testing, PrEP and confidentiality.
• Hepatitis B screening. DOLE Department Advisory No. 05, issued on 4 January 2011, makes a hepatitis B workplace policy mandatory for every private workplace and states that screening for hepatitis B as a prerequisite to employment shall not be mandatory. Workers may not be discriminated against from pre-employment to post-employment because of hepatitis B status, applicants cannot be compelled to disclose it, and someone who tests positive may not be declared unfit to work without proper medical evaluation and counselling.
• Pregnancy. The Labor Code makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge a woman on account of her pregnancy, or to refuse her readmission to work for fear that she may become pregnant again, and it bars any condition of employment that a woman employee shall not marry.

What does fit to work actually mean?

It is the examining physician’s opinion, written on a medical certificate, that nothing found in the examination prevents you from doing the specific job. It is a clearance for that role, not a statement that you are in perfect health, and it is not permanent. Results usually fall into three practical outcomes: cleared, cleared pending further tests, or a finding that needs treatment before clearance. A pending result delays the start date rather than ending the application.

Keep the originals. A drug test certificate stays valid for a year under RA 9165, and laboratory results are usually accepted for three to six months by employers, though each company sets its own window. If the exam turns up something that needs follow-up, a rural health unit or city health office can start the workup at no cost, as described in what a rural health unit offers for free, and general medicine clinics handle the rest.