The leadership of the House of Representatives has vowed to prioritize the passage of a measure seeking to create the country’s electronic health system and services.
This develop as the House Committee on Health created a technical working group to consolidate several measures establishing the National Health Passport System and strengthen the primary health-care system.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said House Bill 8 which he filed aims to establish the country’s electronic health system and services in the country.
According to Cayetano, the lack of information and medical record keeping is yet to be addressed.
“For Filipinos in general, it is not a usual practice to keep such documentation—whether of previous check-ups, diagnostic test results, medication, treatments, and procedures done, among others,” the Speaker said.
He added that the government should give emphasis and priority in assisting Filipinos in record keeping and making medical history available.
Cayetano proposed the creation of a National Health Passport System, which provides each Filipino with a document that reflects each individual’s full medical history and other relevant data.
“In the event of emergencies, this will also be a handy tool that can be essential in saving lives,” he said.
Particularly, the health passport shall be a mobile record booklet of the patient containing, among other things, the following: 1) Patient’s medical and dental history as recorded by the physician, dentist or authorized health professionals: 2) Medical and dental test results; 3) Diagnostics: 4) Medicines and medical treatment availed of; 5) Basic medical data; 6) Information on all medical and health related benefits provided by laws; and 7) Information regarding the patient’s medical rights and privileges under the passport system.
As stated in HB 8, all Filipino citizens shall be entitled to a health passport to be used when a patient avails of medical and dental checkups or treatment provided in government or private medical institutions.
Meanwhile,
other measures are HB 61 by Rep. Victor Yap of Tarlac, which proposes the
creation of a Philippine eHealth System and Services with the use of
information and communications technology (ICT), and HB 171 by Rep. Angelina
Tan of Quezon and HB 665 by Rep. Ron Salo of KABAYAN partylist, both for the
establishment of the Electronic Health or eHealth System and Services in
support of Universal Health Care using ICT.