Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo was Keynote Speaker at the 37th Annual Convention of the Philippine College of Hospital Administrators (PCHA). Held at the Century Park Hotel, Ms. Agudo aligned her presentation with the convention theme, “Beyond Vision—Knowing to Plan Your Hospital’s Future.”

The top honcho of the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines spoke from the perspective of a seasoned entrepreneur and executive of a global automotive firm. She shared her experience and leadership style in building HARI as the third top-ranking automotive firm in the local auto industry today. Linking up the innovative customer care approach of Hyundai in the Philippines, C.A.R.E.S.—Cordial, Accurate, Reliable, Efficient, and Speedy service, with the mission of caring of medical professionals, Ms. Agudo underscored the need to find ways to deliver the best health care services possible to all Filipinos, regardless of social and economic status.

“We can no longer rely on the good image projected by Filipino health practitioners abroad… We need to give the best and the brightest of our health practitioners with the heart to serve better reasons to stay in the Philippines…Only then can we offer credible medical service to non-Filipinos,” said Ms. Agudo, citing the Philippines’ potential to be a premier medical tourism destination in Asia.

HARI’s top executive then challenged her audience to rethink and reinvent present hospital administration styles to suit the needs and demands of customers/patients of the 21st century. “Focus on innovation, make real connections with customers, anticipate business cycles, find optimal processes, leverage on your technologies and competencies to serve customers better, measure results, and hold people accountable for success.” To end, she encouraged her audience to engage in concerted and aggressive efforts to bring their hospitals to the next level of patient care. “Health care holds universal appeal and once you start thinking out of the box, you may surprise yourselves to discover new allies who are more than willing to help you address the pressing concerns of the country’s health sector.”

According to Dr. Margarito D. Hernandez, Chair of the 37th Annual Convention, the PCHA is open and bent on engaging in more interdisciplinary learning activities, where hospital administrators and medical practitioners can draw new ideas about management and customer (patient) relations from top-notch professionals outside of the health care industry.