Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

6669
HOUSE BILL NO.

INTRODUCED BY REP. JOHN REYNALD M. TIANGCO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The State has the duty to provide accessible health care to the public and to promote
public safety and welfare of the people.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world expects to set a new normal. Now
more than ever, the shift to virtual communication and remote rendering of services shall be
prioritized and strengthened through regulation and implementation of reasonable measures by
the proper government agency.

Itis also timely for the State to prioritize health services, and its accessibility, especially
during this transition to the new normal. As such, the permission of telemedicine practice shall
be introduced to heed to the rising demand to medical services, and supplement what is already
present in status-quo.

This measure seeks to expand the scope of medical practice to include the practice of
telemedicine, so as to make access to health care available to a broader audience, especially
during the transition to the world’s “new normal”.

For the promotion of the right to health of the Filipino people, the passage of the bill is
earnestly sought.

eho ™. TIAWECO

Lone District-Navotas



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. Bees

INTRODUCED BY REP. JOHN REYNALD M. TIANGCO

‘AN ACT
EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF MEDICAL PRACTICE THROUGH PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR
TELEMEDICINE SERVICES, AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2382 OR THE MEDICAL ACT OF 1959,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Section 1. Short Title - The Act shall be known as “The Telemedicine Act.”

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy — The State recognizes the right of the Filipino people to
health, including access to health services, especially in times of a pandemic, where the new
normal sets to maintain the state of physical distancing and the public’s limitation to travel and
movement. It is high time, therefore, to introduce, and at the same time regulate, the practice
of telemedicine in the Philippines. It is the intent of the legislature to recognize the practice of
telemedicine as a legitimate means by which a patient may receive medical services from a
licensed physician without physical contact.

Sec. 3. Objectives — This Act provides for and shall govern the:

{a) Provision of access to health services in medically underserved rural and
urban areas;

(b) Standardization, upgrading, and maintenance of the distinct domain of
telemedicine;

(c) Supervision and regulation of the practice and operations of telemedicine;

(d) Upholding of competence, values, and professional ethics of physicians who
will engage with the telemedicine practice.


Sec. 4.

Sec. 5.

Definition of Terms

(a) Practice of Medicine - acts constituting practice of medicine. A person
shall be considered as engaged in the practice of medicine:

(1) who shall, for compensation, fee, salary or reward in any form, paid to
him directly or through another, or even without the same, examine any
person, physically or remotely, and diagnose, treat, operate or prescribe any
remedy for any human disease, injury, deformity, physical, mental or
physical condition or any ailment, real or imaginary, regardless of the nature
of the remedy or treatment administered, prescribed or recommended; or

(2) who shall, by means of signs, cards, advertisements, written or printed
matter, or through the radio and television, either offer or undertake by any
means or method to diagnose, treat, operate or prescribe any remedy for
any human disease, injury, deformity, physical, mental or physical condition;
or

(3) who shall falsely use the title M.D. after his name.?
(b) Telemedicine, as defined by the World Medical Association - the practice
of medicine over a distance, in which interventions, diagnostic and treatment
decisions and recommendations are based on data, documents and other
information transmitted through telecommunication systems.”
(c) Physician - a professional duly licensed to practice medicine, or
otherwise permitted to engage in the practice of medicine by the Medical Act of
1959.
(4) Patient - any person receiving medical treatment.

(e) Domain ~a specified field of knowledge or activity.

{f)  Telecommunication systems — A collection of nodes and links, including
devices and technology used, to enable e telecommunication.

Applicability — This law shall should apply to all physicians or persons engaged in

the industry of telemedicine, including hospitals and establishments which offers telemedicine
to its patients, through its physicians.

*The Medical Act of 1959 [Me

| Act], Republic Act No. 2382.

1959. p. 10; An Act to Amend Certain Sections of Republic Act No. 2382, otherwise known as ,The Medical Act of
1959,° Republic Act No. 4224. 1965. Republic Act No. 4224 amends sections 3-7, 9-16, and 18-21 of the Medical

Act of 1959.

? World Medical Association Statement on the Ethics of Telemedicine, Adopted by the 58th WMA General
‘Assembly, Copenhagen, Denmark. October 2007


Sec. 6. Enforcement - The Department of Health, hereby referred to as DOH shall
regulate and supervise the telemedicine practice in the Philippines, and shall be permitted to
create an attached agency intended for this purpose.

Sec. 7. Persons allowed to diagnose through telemedicine — Only licensed physicians,
or those licensed by the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine, are allowed to diagnose
and provide physician consultation services through telecommunication systems.

Sec. 8. Privacy and consent of patients - The following general conditions shall be
observed and complied with by the parties to telemedicine service:

(a) Prior to the rendering of health services through telemedicine, the physician
who has the authority over the primary diagnosis shall obtain written informed consent,
duly signed by the patient. The consent procedure shall ensure that the following
information is given and explained to the patient:

(1) The individual retains the option to withhold or withdraw consent, at any
time, without affecting the right to access to care or treatment which the
individual would otherwise be entitled;

(2) A clear explanation of the potential risks, consequences, and benefits of
telemedicine;

(3) All existing laws and stipulation on confidentiality shall apply;

(4) The patient shall have access to all medical information transmitted during a
telemedicine consultation, and copies of this information shall be made
available to the patient;

(5) Dissemination of any patient identifiable images or information from the
telemedicine consultation to other third parties shall not be made without
the consent of the patient;

(6) The patient understands the written information provided pursuant to
subdivision and that this information has been discussed with the physician,
or his or her representative or assignee.

(b) The written consent statement signed by the patient shall become part of the
patient's medical record.

(c)__ The failure of the physician to comply with this section shall be penalized under
this act.


(d) Where the patient is a minor or is incapacitated or incompetent, such that he or
she is unable to give informed consent, the patient’s legal guardian shall sign in behalf of
the patient.

(e) The physician or persons engaged in telemedicine, including hospitals or
establishments which offers this service through its licensed physicians, shall have the
obligations of a data controller under the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

{f) The patient shall have all the rights of a data subject under the Data Privacy Act
of 2012.

{g) This section not apply in an emergency situation in which a patient is unable to
give informed consent and the representative of that patient is not available.

Sec. 9. Establishment of physician-patient relationship - Upon compliance to the
preceding paragraph, the physician and patient interacting through telecommunication
services, for purposes of telemedicine practice, shall be considered to have established a
physician-patient relationship, and all pertinent laws governing and related to the said
relationship shall likewise apply.

Sec. 10. Compliance required ~ Hospitals, establishments, or persons allowed, under this
Act, to offer the delivery of medical services through telecommunication systems, or otherwise
regarded as telemedicine practice, shall meet the following requirements:

(2) All persons and facilities including but not limited to, clinics, hospitals, and
medical establishments, which will undertake telemedicine practice shall be registered
with the DOH as facilities rendering telemedicine;

(b) All personnel employed by, whether regular or contractual, the above-stated
facilities, intended to handle all the data and telecommunication systems under this Act
shall be licensed or certified by their respective board or agency, where licensure is
required by law;

(c) All equipment and telecommunication systems intended to be used in carrying
out telemedicine shall be duly declared upon registration with the DOH and the
operating personnel for the equipment or system shall be licensed or certified, as
required by law;

(d) All telemedicine services shall be available, at reasonable times, to all persons
intending to avail such services. To the extent feasible, the facility shall make all services
accessible to all.


Sec. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations - Within ninety (90) days after the
approval of this Act, the DOH, in consultation and coordination with appropriate government
agencies, representatives from the private sector, and other stakeholders, shall promulgate the
necessary implementing rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 12. Separability Clause — In the event any provision of this Act or the application of
such provision to any person or circumstances is declared invalid, the remainder of this Act or
the application of said provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by
such declaration.

Sec. 13. Repealing clause — All acts and regulations not consistent with this Act are
hereby amended or repealed.

Sec. 14. Effectivity — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at
least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,