Health services innovation company Optum Global Solutions said the economic complications brought about by the Ukraine-Russia war has put its business environment in a “fluid” state, but vowed its long term commitment in the Philippines with its 19,000-strong workforce and to continue launching new programs this year.
During a virtual press conference to mark Optum’s 10th anniversary in its operations in the country, Atty. Darwin Mariano, Optum vice-president for external affairs, said that while the pandemic is possibly at its tailend the Russian war in Ukraine is also facing a lot of global concern, triggering rising oil prices. The Philippines is the second largest operation of Optum globally in terms of headcount.
Mariano said there are the macro factors that are directly impacting United Health Group, its sole US-based healthcare organization client that is currently in the Top 5 of the Fortune 500.
Nevertheless, Mariano stressed “What we can say is definitely we're committed to the Philippines. Unfortunately, it would be premature to be able to talk about specific sites or very specific headcount expansions, again, given the fluid environment.”
Mariano said their focus is to ensure its 19,000 people will get fulfillment and grow with the company.
"We're doubling down and making sure that we become a more active contributor to making sure that the kind of talent that we are able to support in the Philippines would be receiving the training and education that would be world-class, not just to support our business, but really to support the needs of the country," he said.
Optum Philippines offers an extensive suite of enabling and technology services, with a highly-skilled workforce delivering excellent customer care, payment integrity, pharmacy benefit management and revenue cycle management solutions to accelerate revenue streams and deliver value to US clients. Optum has offices in Taguig, Quezon City and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila, and Cebu (Central Visayas).
For this year, Optum is rolling out and doubling down on its clinical talent development in terms of providing the best quality training. They would be launching Optum Health education later this year, another big clinical education platform in the Philippines.
Optum emphasized that healthcare advocates and nurses need to continuously brush up on their skills and knowledge based on new developments in the field. Opportunities to continuously hone and upgrade their skills through in-house programs are benefits that Optum provides for its team members.
One such program is the USRN Academy, an online self-paced training for the company’s nurses that enables them to transition from a Philippine registered nurse (RN) to a United States RN in a span of 26 weeks. Through this program, Filipino nurses are prepared to effectively delivery on their tasks in a US clinical setting. To date, the project has upskilled more than 400 PHRNs to USRNs.
Continuing its mission to uplift Filipino nurses, Optum offers the RN Ready Plus program to deepen the clinical domain knowledge of Philippine its nurses and help them comply with the requirements of Republic Act No. 10912, the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Act of 2016.
RN Ready Plus is designed for partner academic/medical institutions so that non-Optum nursing students and working nurses can have access to online, self-paced, and on-demand courses relevant to their career development and at par with global standards. Optum’s first partner under the RN Ready Plus Program is the Angeles University Foundation, located in Angeles, Pampanga.
Optum is looking forward to partnering with more schools and medical institutions in the country to bring the program to those who need it most.
“Throughout the 10 years that we’ve been operating in the Philippines, the constant factors of our success have been the dedication of our employees and our culture of genuine compassion for the members we serve and our colleagues. These two factors allow us to deliver the best service to those we serve while also improving ourselves,” said Ivic Mueco, managing director Optum Philippines.
Since starting its operations in the Philippines, Optum has achieved a number of milestones including the launch of the Make A Difference campaign, which honors its employees for the meaningful work they do as health care providers; its recognition from the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) for the company’s VR-enabled learning program; the 2020 Outstanding Exporter Award from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA); and its inclusive initiatives through the Same Gender Partner Benefits for health insurance and retirement.
“In the coming years, we look forward to having more compassionate and caring Filipino talents who help in making Optum’s mission of having better and more affordable healthcare for all a reality,” said Mueco.