For many Filipinos, medicine is a daily necessity—but its cost often strains household budgets. With prices high compared to income and basic needs, families are forced to carefully plan just to afford essential medication.
To help ease this burden, Filipinos can now use the e-Government Philippines (eGovPH) mobile app to compare medicine prices and find nearby drugstores through its new “Drug Price Watch” feature.
Learn the truth behind generic medicines and how they can help Filipino families save without compromising quality in this explainer.
The Department of Health (DOH) announced on July 9, 2025, that the app now shows the cost of branded and generic medicines, along with the lowest available price and the closest pharmacy that stocks them.
The new tool supports the Universal Health Care Law’s goal of improving access to affordable and quality medicine for all.
This feature can be found under the National Government Agencies (NGAs) tab on the app’s home page. Here is a guide on how to use the app:
To further help Filipinos, the app also aims to simplify the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program. As revealed in May during pilot testing, patients can apply online and receive a QR code to set appointments—eliminating long queues and paperwork.
“Dito sa eGov app, iyong ating medical assistance for indigent and financially-incapacitated patients, iyan po ang gagawin nating madali para sa tao (The main service we’re streamlining on the app is medical assistance for indigent and financially incapacitated patients),” DOH Undersecretary Emmie Liza Chiong said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview.
Discover how KonsultaMD is making healthcare as easy and affordable as buying phone load for Filipinos through 24/7 teleconsultation.
Mobile clinics with basic lab services and rotating DOH medical teams are also being deployed to reach more communities. Future updates aim to allow online submission of medical results and prescriptions, or “eReseta.”
“Tapos kung puwede na ring online iyong submission to the patient and then afterwards kung ano iyong kailangan, online na rin parang eReseta ang gagawin natin (Submissions of medical results may also be done online and after that, whatever needed will also be done online like an eReseta),” Chiong added.
Estimating expenses for your medications? Check out the new ” Drug Price Watch” feature of the eGovPH app. 💊 Photo from ABS-CBN News.
Access here: https://t.co/yfVkbp8CAr
Read more on https://t.co/GbmrGgKyXi 💛 pic.twitter.com/mxKwuQtnWs
— Tiffany (@tiffany_glz) July 13, 2025
The EGov Super App, launched in 2023, integrates various government services to fight corruption, reduce costs, and make public transactions more efficient. It also allows Filipinos to register SIM cards, report online scams, and secure digital permits.
Explore more ways Filipinos are accessing better healthcare through Good Tech at GoodNewsPilipinas.com.
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