Ken Ikeda, Executive Chairman, MD Plus Clinic and Diagnostice Center
Are successful entrepreneurs born or made? This age-old question has no definite answer. However, for some, entrepreneurialism runs in their blood. Being born in a family with business interests, such entrepreneurs acquire inherent passion, commitment, and a sense of purpose since their childhood. The inherited traits when fine-tuned and coupled with a vision and tenacity to evolve through continuous learning, great things happen. It takes an uncanny ability to apply those traits the right way and turn a venture into a success. Acquiring such exemplary attributes, an entrepreneur who is creating ripples in the healthcare space is Ken Ikeda.
Ken grew up watching his parents managing their family business in Jakarta. This instilled the entrepreneurial spirit within him. But he found his true calling when he sensed that there is still a lot that needs to be improved on the current healthcare status not just in the Philippines, where he trained in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, but in most parts of the world. Being a doctor, Ken spent almost half of his life training and mastering the art of healing people especially those with diseases of the heart. These two major influences propelled Ken to invest his time and effort in something that would make a change in peoples’ lives for the better.
The Beginning of the Entrepreneurial Journey
During his years of training, Ken witnessed the physical, emotional, and financial toll of medical care on patients and their families. So, driven by the belief that quality healthcare need not be expensive and be seen as a burden, Ken and his wife started conceptualizing MD Plus Clinic and Diagnostic Center. Their vision was to provide people with accurate, efficient, and high-quality outpatient care in a relaxing and beautiful setting at a reasonable price. In 2016, they initially partnered with a group of doctors to gain background and experience on the business side of healthcare and launched their own brand and concept, MD Plus in 2019.
Delivering Effective, Convenient, and Affordable Outpatient Care
MD Plus was conceptualized as an outpatient clinic to offer accurate, efficient, and safe diagnostic tests as well as an inviting, and comfortable venue where doctors and medical staff are committed to helping patients take charge of their health and well-being. Today, it provides a wide array of prominent outpatient healthcare services including specialist consultations, dental services, laboratory tests, diagnostic imaging, specialized cardiovascular tests, COVID-19 testing, and vaccinations. “Among our services, I would say our strength is in the outpatient cardiovascular workup because as Cardiologists, we make sure that we get top-of-the-line equipment, our nurses and technicians are trained to perform each procedure properly, and all tests results are interpreted based on currently accepted guidelines,” elaborates Ken.
MD Plus recognizes the significant role of the patient in taking care of their health. So parallel to its services, it strives to make a system that empowers them and provides continuous care from prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. “What sets us apart from our other competitors is our goal to educate our patients and provide them with the correct knowledge regarding their medical condition,” adds Ken.
Navigating Challenges While Adhering To Core Values
MD Plus is built on 6 core values: service above all else, patient care and education, professionalism, competence, and continuous improvement, and social responsibility. Staying true to these core principles, the pioneering company has been able to navigate all the stumbling blocks that came along its way. One of the biggest challenges that it had to overcome is navigating the unknowns of the Covid-19 crisis. In the wake of the global pandemic, the company had to adapt quickly to maintain operations while securing the safety of its team and clients. Creating brand awareness in a sector with a lot of established names was also a critical challenge for the company. But it successfully overcame the challenge by working with great PR and marketing teams.
“Our team is oriented with regards to our company’s values, mission, and vision that help them recognize the role each of them uniquely plays in our organization. At the end of the day, high-quality medical service to our patients is everyone’s top priority,” opines Ken.
Continues Reshaping the Future of Outpatient Care in Asia
With the uncertainty of the pandemic, currently, the Philippine team at MD Plus is focusing on constantly updating its clinic operations and services to be able to provide the pressing needs of its clients at this time. In the coming years, the company aspires to further expand its operation and open new branches of MD Plus Clinic and Diagnostic Center. Meanwhile, for the international projects, it aims to finish setting up the outpatient clinic and diagnostic center and the integrated system by end of 2021 and the pharmaceutical arm by 2022. As a long-term goal, the company plans to realize its vision to be a global provider of healthcare and hospitality by establishing medical hubs in beautiful destinations. With all these strategic plans in place, Ken aims to continue changing the face of outpatient care.
Guiding the path of budding entrepreneurs, Ken advises them to invest their time and effort into something they are passionate about. “Have a clear vision and well-defined goals. Learn from your mistakes. Never quit, when you quit, someone else gets one step closer to your vision,” concludes Ken.