House health panel TWG approves 'passport system'
Published Oct 16, 2019 03:28 pm
By Charissa Luci-Atienza
A technical working group of the House Committee on Health approved on Wednesday a bill seeking to entitle all Filipino citizens to a Health Passport, which will be used during medical and dental check-ups or treatment in government or private medical institutions.
House of the Representatives (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
The House TWG panel, chaired by Nueve Ecija Rep. Maricel Natividad-Nagaño approved House Bill No. 8 or the proposed "Health Passport System Act," principally authored by House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
HB 8 seeks to establish the national health passport system and strengthen the primary healthcare system.
It was Anakalusugan partylist Rep. Mike Defensor who moved for the approval of Cayetano’s bill with an amendment.
Defensor expressed concern about the penalty provision of the bill making the failure to provide the child with medical check-ups and immunization a violation of Article VI, Section 10 of Republic Act NO. 7610, otherwise known as the Anti-Child Abuse Act.
"I so move that we approve it without that provision. For me, it is not anymore a question of the wisdom of the penalty, but you have so many topics in one bill. The topic of the bill is health passport, that’s it. Putting this provision would make this bill illegal or even un-constitutional,” he said.
Daniel Bristol, who represents the Department of Social Welfare and Development during the TWG meeting, asked the panel to “further study” such provision, and later, even recommended its “removal”.
“Parents should not be penalized at once or the mere failure to provide their children with medical immunizations because there may be instances wherein the government or private hospitals deny the medical services for these children whose parents are unable to pay the instant premium requested by those medical services or there may be cases where parents of the child are unaware or not able to fully comply with the documentary requirements,” he told the TWG panel.
Under HB 8, the parents or legal guardian of children born after the effectivity of the proposed Act shall be required to enroll their children in the Health Passport Program.
The Health Passport shall be employed to record the child’s initial medical check-up, including the necessary immunization, the bill provides.
Cayetano’s bill mandates the Department of Health (DOH) in coordination with the local government units (LGUs) to undertake the implementation of the National Health Passport System.
In pushing for the passage of his bill, Cayetano stressed that medical record keeping plays an essential role in any healthcare system.
“For Filipinos in general, it is not usual practice to keep such documentation—whether of previous check-ups, diagnostic test results, medications, treatments, and procedures done, among others. Thus assisting Filipinos in record keeping and making medical history available should also be given emphasis and priority by the government,” he said.
“The Health Passport System can help address this gap as its purpose is to provide each Filipino with a document that reflects each individual’s full medical history and other relevant data, providing both the medical practitioners and the patient a full picture of the latter’s condition. In the event of emergencies, this will also be handy tool that can be essential in saving lives,” he pointed out.
HB 8 provides the Health Passport shall be the mobile record booklet of the patient containing the following: patient’s medical and dental history as recorded by the physician, dentist or authorised health professionals; medical and dental test results; diagnosis; medicines and medical treatment availed of; basic medical data; information on all medical and health related benefits provided by laws; and information regarding the patient’s medical rights and privileges under the passport system.
“The Health Passport shall serve as the patient’s official recognition that he should avail of the free medical and dental diagnostic tests in government hospitals subject to the requirements to be set by the DOH and the local government units where passport holder resides,” the bill said.
The bill provides that access by proper medical authorities to the recorded data shall be made upon the passport holder’s prior consent. In the absence of the relatives, the physician in charge of the patient shall be authorized to review the patient’s passport, it said.
Under the proposed Health Passport Program, all Filipino citizens shall be entitled to a health passport, which shall be used whenever a patient avails of medical and dental check-ups or treatment provided in government of private medical institutions.
HB 8 tasks the city, municipality and/or barangay together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to evaluate the applicants for the free medical and dental diagnostic tests.
Those qualified shall then be recommended to the primary medical institution or the concerned local government unit for the issuance of the health passports.
Those who want to obtain the health passport without availing the privilege of free medical and dental diagnostic tests may directly secure the health passport from a medical institutions or LGUs implementing the program.
Under the bill, rural health centers in the country are directed to digitize all medical records and evaluation results to create a shareable database to consolidate all information that will be easily accessible in time of need.
The bill calls for the allocation of P100 million, which shall be included in the annual appropriation of the DOH for the next five years for the implementation of the proposed Act.
It requires the DOH to promulgate the implementing rules and regulations of the proposed Act and administer the program.
House of the Representatives (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
The House TWG panel, chaired by Nueve Ecija Rep. Maricel Natividad-Nagaño approved House Bill No. 8 or the proposed "Health Passport System Act," principally authored by House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
HB 8 seeks to establish the national health passport system and strengthen the primary healthcare system.
It was Anakalusugan partylist Rep. Mike Defensor who moved for the approval of Cayetano’s bill with an amendment.
Defensor expressed concern about the penalty provision of the bill making the failure to provide the child with medical check-ups and immunization a violation of Article VI, Section 10 of Republic Act NO. 7610, otherwise known as the Anti-Child Abuse Act.
"I so move that we approve it without that provision. For me, it is not anymore a question of the wisdom of the penalty, but you have so many topics in one bill. The topic of the bill is health passport, that’s it. Putting this provision would make this bill illegal or even un-constitutional,” he said.
Daniel Bristol, who represents the Department of Social Welfare and Development during the TWG meeting, asked the panel to “further study” such provision, and later, even recommended its “removal”.
“Parents should not be penalized at once or the mere failure to provide their children with medical immunizations because there may be instances wherein the government or private hospitals deny the medical services for these children whose parents are unable to pay the instant premium requested by those medical services or there may be cases where parents of the child are unaware or not able to fully comply with the documentary requirements,” he told the TWG panel.
Under HB 8, the parents or legal guardian of children born after the effectivity of the proposed Act shall be required to enroll their children in the Health Passport Program.
The Health Passport shall be employed to record the child’s initial medical check-up, including the necessary immunization, the bill provides.
Cayetano’s bill mandates the Department of Health (DOH) in coordination with the local government units (LGUs) to undertake the implementation of the National Health Passport System.
In pushing for the passage of his bill, Cayetano stressed that medical record keeping plays an essential role in any healthcare system.
“For Filipinos in general, it is not usual practice to keep such documentation—whether of previous check-ups, diagnostic test results, medications, treatments, and procedures done, among others. Thus assisting Filipinos in record keeping and making medical history available should also be given emphasis and priority by the government,” he said.
“The Health Passport System can help address this gap as its purpose is to provide each Filipino with a document that reflects each individual’s full medical history and other relevant data, providing both the medical practitioners and the patient a full picture of the latter’s condition. In the event of emergencies, this will also be handy tool that can be essential in saving lives,” he pointed out.
HB 8 provides the Health Passport shall be the mobile record booklet of the patient containing the following: patient’s medical and dental history as recorded by the physician, dentist or authorised health professionals; medical and dental test results; diagnosis; medicines and medical treatment availed of; basic medical data; information on all medical and health related benefits provided by laws; and information regarding the patient’s medical rights and privileges under the passport system.
“The Health Passport shall serve as the patient’s official recognition that he should avail of the free medical and dental diagnostic tests in government hospitals subject to the requirements to be set by the DOH and the local government units where passport holder resides,” the bill said.
The bill provides that access by proper medical authorities to the recorded data shall be made upon the passport holder’s prior consent. In the absence of the relatives, the physician in charge of the patient shall be authorized to review the patient’s passport, it said.
Under the proposed Health Passport Program, all Filipino citizens shall be entitled to a health passport, which shall be used whenever a patient avails of medical and dental check-ups or treatment provided in government of private medical institutions.
HB 8 tasks the city, municipality and/or barangay together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to evaluate the applicants for the free medical and dental diagnostic tests.
Those qualified shall then be recommended to the primary medical institution or the concerned local government unit for the issuance of the health passports.
Those who want to obtain the health passport without availing the privilege of free medical and dental diagnostic tests may directly secure the health passport from a medical institutions or LGUs implementing the program.
Under the bill, rural health centers in the country are directed to digitize all medical records and evaluation results to create a shareable database to consolidate all information that will be easily accessible in time of need.
The bill calls for the allocation of P100 million, which shall be included in the annual appropriation of the DOH for the next five years for the implementation of the proposed Act.
It requires the DOH to promulgate the implementing rules and regulations of the proposed Act and administer the program.