Senator Risa Hontiveros proposed to the Department of Health (DOH) Wednesday, April 7, to tap business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies to support its "One Hospital Command Center" (OHCC), which is currently swamped with calls due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Hontiveros said the country's "world-class" BPO services could help ease the strain in the government's centralized referral center and thus provide prompt response and assistance to novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.

“An efficient and well-coordinated hospital referral system is a vital part of our response to public health emergencies. Imagine how many lives we could have saved if only we promptly answered and facilitated all these distress calls,” Hontiveros said.

“Because of our world-class BPOs, when the world calls, Filipinos answer. We don't deserve these busy lines. Ang problema kasi, 'yong command center that should be providing ‘coordinated care’ to patients ay mismong magulo (The problem is, the command center that should be providing 'coordinated care' to patients is the one that is uncoordinated)."

"No one deserves to be kept hanging on the line while their lives are also on the line,” the opposition senator pointed out.

DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega had previously admitted in a television interview that the OHCC is "experiencing a lot of strain" following the latest uptick in coronavirus infections.

From an average of 70 calls daily in February, the OHCC now receives nearly 400 calls per day.

"It kind of overwhelms also the number of agents that are going to refer patients to different hospitals," said Vega, who was appointed as the Philippines' COVID-19 treatment czar.

Hontiveros also lamented "horror stories" on social media, where some citizens said the OHCC returned their call for help as late as three days later, after their loved ones had passed away.

With their technological capacity, infrastructure and resources, she said BPO firms could "upgrade" the OHCC to help accommodate the increasing number of calls being received.

“We are home to world-renowned BPO industries here in the Philippines. And utilizing their capabilities will pave the way for more calls getting answered, more patients being promptly referred to hospitals, more lives being saved,” Hontiveros stressed.

Once upgraded, she said the command center could be expanded to a "one-stop-shop" for all COVID-19 emergencies, including teleconsultation platform and a portal for remote patient monitoring.

This is also one way of taking care of the country's health workers, Hontiveros said.

“Imbis na ang mga kababayan natin ang nagpapakahirap lumapit sa mga ospital (Instead of our countrymen lining up to be accommodated in hospitals), we would be making health care accessible and convenient. This will prevent patients from flocking to hospitals, thus lessening the weight our healthcare workers need to carry,” Hontiveros said.