{"id":7310,"date":"2026-09-11T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nowserving.ph\/blog\/?p=7310"},"modified":"2026-09-27T15:24:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T07:24:00","slug":"annual-physical-exam-for-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nowserving.ph\/blog\/annual-physical-exam-for-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Physical Exam for Employees: How Companies Arrange It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Running the annual medical for a whole office is seven decisions: who’s covered, how the exam gets delivered, which provider, what it costs per head, when each department goes, who receives the results, and how finance gets billed. Most Philippine companies buy the same thing at the base, a Basic 5 package, which is a physical exam by a doctor, a CBC, a <\/span>urinalysis<\/span><\/a>, a fecalysis and a chest x-ray. Published per-head prices for that start at PHP 530 at TopHealth and PHP 850 at Kaiser Medical Center, and the same five tests cost PHP 4,200 at Makati Medical Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

A 50-person program is roughly PHP 42,500 to PHP 210,000 at published retail.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Company Annual Physical Exam Program?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The company version of an APE is the same clinical event as an individual one. What changes is that you’re buying it in bulk, on a schedule, for people who have opinions about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"physical<\/p>\n

The Basic 5: What Most Programs Are Built On<\/b><\/h3>\n

Four providers define the Basic 5 near-identically on their own pages: Makati Medical Center, TopHealth, Maxicare and FriendlyCare. It’s a physical exam by a doctor, a CBC, a routine urinalysis, a fecalysis, and a chest x-ray.<\/span><\/p>\n

The one real variation is the fifth slot: clinic and hospital versions use fecalysis, while the Maxicare version allows a <\/span>random blood sugar<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>cholesterol<\/span><\/a> test instead. If you’re comparing a clinic quote against an HMO card, that’s the line to check.<\/span><\/p>\n

What HR Owns, and What the Doctor Owns<\/b><\/h3>\n

HR owns scope, schedule, budget and billing. That’s the whole list. What the results mean, whether someone is fit to work, and what happens next are decisions that belong to the examining doctor, typically an <\/span>occupational medicine<\/span><\/a> specialist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This split matters more than it sounds, and the section on what HR is allowed to see is where it becomes concrete.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about APE\u2019s basic 5 in this related article<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n

Step 1: Decide Who Is Covered<\/b><\/h2>\n

Scope decides your budget, your schedule and half your headaches. Settle it before you call a single provider.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regular Staff, Probationary Staff, Contractors<\/b><\/h3>\n

Full-time employees are the easy part. The awkward ones are probationary staff, project-based hires, and contractors billed through an agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most companies include probationary staff. Contractors are usually covered by whoever employs them, which is the agency, not you. Confirm that in the service agreement instead of assuming, because a contractor who was never examined by anyone is an easy gap to miss.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Core Exam vs the Extras You Choose to Give<\/b><\/h3>\n

The core exam and the extras are two different budget lines, and it helps to keep them separate on paper. The Basic 5 is the core. A treadmill stress test, a thyroid panel or an ultrasound are things the company chooses to give, usually to senior staff, and they’re the first things to cut when the number comes back too high.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiering by Role<\/b><\/h3>\n

Splitting packages by role this way is normal. A common shape is Basic 5 for everyone, Basic 5 plus a blood chemistry panel and ECG at manager level, and an <\/span>executive check-up<\/span><\/a> package for the leadership team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two cautions. Age is a more defensible tier than seniority if anyone asks why, and a tier that reads as a status symbol tends to get talked about in the pantry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check What Applies to Your Company<\/b><\/h3>\n

Workplace medical exams fall under DOLE’s occupational safety rules. For what they require of your company, ask your HR or legal team, or the DOLE regional office covering your workplace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 2: Pick a Delivery Model<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are three ways to actually get 200 people examined, and they fail in different ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

Onsite Mobile Clinic<\/b><\/h3>\n

A provider brings staff and equipment to your office, usually including a mobile x-ray unit, and runs the whole batch over one to several days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most HR teams don’t know this exists. TopHealth runs its own mobile clinic for exactly this kind of program, and its APE packages start at PHP 530. The tradeoff is that you need parking, a room, and power, and you’re committed to whatever dates the mobile team has open.<\/span><\/p>\n

Employees Go to a Branch on Staggered Dates<\/b><\/h3>\n

You buy a package, the provider issues a letter of authorization, and employees show up at a branch on assigned days.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the least demanding of your facilities and the hardest to chase. Somebody always doesn’t go. Expect to run a second round for stragglers and to build that into your timeline from the start.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reimbursement<\/b><\/h3>\n

Employees arrange their own exam at any accredited facility and claim the cost back against a cap.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s the lightest to administer at the front and the heaviest at the back, because you’ll get twelve different test lists and a shoebox of receipts. This is also the only model where a comparable result across the workforce is basically impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Comparing the Three Delivery Models<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"getting<\/p>\n

Here’s how the three models compare on the factors that actually decide which one fits your workforce:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/th>\n\n

Onsite mobile clinic<\/b><\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Branch, staggered dates<\/b><\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Reimbursement<\/b><\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Who moves<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The provider<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The employees<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The employees<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Best for<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

50 or more people in one location<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Multiple offices, small teams<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Remote or scattered staff<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Lost work time<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Lowest, minutes per person<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Half a day per person, typically<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Varies, hardest to predict<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Consistency of results<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Same tests for everyone<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Same tests for everyone<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Whatever each person bought<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

HR admin load<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Front-loaded on logistics<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Chasing attendance<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Checking receipts and claims<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Facilities needed<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Room, parking, power<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

None<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

None<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Cost control<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Fixed per head<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Fixed per head<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Capped, but variable per person<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Step 3: Choose a Provider and Get a Quote<\/b><\/h2>\n

Assume you’ll have to ask for the price. The first quote you get typically isn’t itemised either.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Seven Things to Ask for in Writing<\/b><\/h3>\n

Before you commit to a provider, get these seven items confirmed in writing:<\/span><\/p>\n