Dr. Jose “Brix” Pujalte Jr. is new Health Secretary - PeopleAsia
The medical center chief of the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) and one of PeopleAsia’s Men Who Matter 2023 awardees is the country’s new Health Secretary, replacing Dr. Ted Herbosa. Having served as medical center chief of the POC since 2014, Pujalte’s managerial and hospital administration skills were honed in the 700-bed hospital, whose emergency room […]
The medical center chief of the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) and one of PeopleAsia’s Men Who Matter 2023 awardees is the country’s new Health Secretary, replacing Dr. Ted Herbosa. Having served as medical center chief of the POC since 2014, Pujalte’s managerial and hospital administration skills were honed in the 700-bed hospital, whose emergency room serves an average 110 patients a day, and whose outpatient department receives about 500 to 600 patients daily. The POC is the country’s national specialty center not just for orthopedics, but also for rehabilitation medicine. “We go from strength to strength. The hospital has been in existence since 1945. And with the focus now on orthopedics and rehabilitation medicine, we find that we’re also moving into more advanced technology. We already have minimally invasive surgeries for the spine, joint replacement and sports medicine. For rehab medicine, we have already acquired robotic equipment for faster and more high-quality physical therapy, and for the treatment of patients who need to regain optimal function,” Pujalte shared in an interview withPeopleAsia‘s Jose Paolo dela Cruz in 2023. Under his watch, the POC also opened a six-story building that became operational in 2022. In it, one would find the latest orthopedic diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative technology, which Filipinos have been using through their Philhealth coverage under the Universal Health Care law. Pujalte served at the Department of Health in 1991 as medical officer, soon after he obtained his degree in Medicine at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) in 1990. In 1994, he completed his residency training at the POC. Outside of the operating room, Pujalte is a man of many interests. For one, he is an accomplished writer who has authored three books on general medicine. He has written the orthopedic chapter in a local pediatric textbook, co-authored with his father, ER Orthopedics. He has also written articles for local and international scientific journals. As an orthopedic specialist, he also released a self-published book titledBoning Down: Orthopaedic Juvenilia and Other Unusual Essays. He also served as president of the Philippine Orthopedic Association in 2009 and the ASEAN Orthopedic Association in 2010. He succeeds Dr. Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa who was appointed in June 2023. Photography by RXANDY CAPINPINArt direction by DEXTER FRANCIS DE VERAStyling by EDRICK PAZGrooming by KLENG TOTANESShot on location at CONRAD MANILA