Dermatology at Rizal Medical Center (RizalMed) started as a Section of the Department of Internal Medicine in 1985, with Dr. Pio Raymundo Tantiongco as the sole consultant dermatologist who saw patients at a specific day and time in one of the subspecialty rooms of the Out-Patient Department. He stayed in RizalMed from 1985-1993 until Dr. Carmela Reyes took over the position from 1994-2006. And in 2007, Dr. Francisco D. Rivera IV assumed the role as Head of the Section of Dermatology up to the present time. With his dream of turning the section to a full-grown department, Dr. Rivera invited other dermatology consultants mostly with subspecialties and who are board-certified members of the Philippine Dermatological Society (PDS) to join and help him with this daunting task. Finally, in July of 2017, this dream turned into a reality with the birth of the Department of Dermatology of Rizal Medical Center.

In March 2017, RizalMed was designated by the Department of Health (DOH) to be one of the regional end-referral centers in Dermatology during the time the Rizal Integrated Health System was started. Presently, there are several hospitals that have an inherent working clinical network with RizalMed (e.g. Taguig-Pateros Hospital, Pasig City General Hospital, Pasig City Children’s Hospital (Hope Medical Center), Angono General Hospital, Morong General Hospital, The New Rizal Provincial Hospital in Binangonan, Tanay General Hospital, Antipolo Community Hospital, etc.). Majority of these patients come from its catchment areas that include Rizal province, its surrounding cities and municipalities. There are also patients coming from other distant provinces as far as Laguna and Batangas.

With this extensive clinical network to serve, the department has focused on three (3) main objectives: A. Capacity building B. Improvement of its Service Delivery Network (SDN) and lastly, C. Perfection of its work flow processes. Crucial and integral to the accomplishment of these objectives is having its very own Skin Center that is located in the newly built 3rd floor extension of the Out-Patient Department. This Skin Center is envisioned to be a Center for Excellence housed by trained multi-specialists in dermatology and other associated medical disciplines offering a wide range of dermatological services complete with state of the art diagnostic modalities and therapeutic interventions. Likewise, one of the strategies of the department is the creation of disease- focused centers with the aim of providing leadership and best clinical practices based on research and training for a focus area. The following are the centers that we have started and plan to continue to develop: Psoriasis Center, Eczema and Allergy Center, Infectious Dermatology and Leprosy Center, Center for Immunoblistering Diseases, Center for Cosmetic and Procedural Dermatology, Dermatological Surgery Center, Teledermatology Center, Center for Hair and Nail Diseases, Center for Dermatological Diagnostics and Laboratories, Photodermatology Unit and Center for Dermatological Research.