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

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

io, 3890.

HOUSE BILL NO. __*

Introduced by Representative CHING B. BERNOS

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE ELECTRONIC HEALTH OR eHEALTH
SYSTEM AND SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE,
AND APROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

v
EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 15 of Article II of the 1987 Constitution provides that the State
shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health
consciousness among them. Our Constitution furthers this principle in
Section 11 of Article XIII, which provides: “the State shall adopt an integrated
and comprehensive approach to health development which shall endeavor to
make essential goods, health and other social services available to all the
people at affordable cost.” In the succeeding Article, Article XIV, Section 12
states that “The State shall regulate the transfer and promote the adaptation
of technology from all sources for the national benefit. It shall encourage the
widest participation of private groups, local governments, and community-

based organizations in the generation and utilization of science and

technology.”



These provisions from the fundamentad law of our land envisions that
our health system adapts to the innovations of our time. Electronic Health or
eHealth is defined as the use of information and communication technology
(ICT) for health. E-Health has the potential to strengthen health systems and
improve quality, safety, and access to care and encourage states to take action
to incorporate it into health systems and services. This measure aims to
establish, institutionalize, and regulate a coherent, coordinated, and
collaborative National eHealth System, guided by a national policy and
strategic network. This measure will help streamline and address issues on
provision, access, availability, accountability, patient rights, electronic health

data, security, and information exchange, among others.

In the advent of the implementation of Universal Health Care for all
Filipinos, accessibility of health services is a crucial requirement for the
realization and success of a healthy society. In view of the foregoing, the

immediate passage of this Bill is earnestly sought.

REP//CHING B. BERNOS
ne District, Abra


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

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL no3390

INTRODUCED BY REP. CHING BERNOS

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE ELECTRONIC HEALTH OR eHEALTH
SYSTEM AND SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE,
AND APROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “eHealth
System and Services Act.”

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policies. It is the policy of the State to protect and
promote the right to health of all Filipinos and instill health consciousness
among them. Toward this end, the State shall institutionalize a system of
providing wide access to quality health information and services using
information and communication technology (ICT), referred to as the National
eHealth System (NeHS}, resulting in better health outcomes for every Filipino,
and further recognizing whole-of-society and — whole-of-government
approaches. Adequate food is not a matter of charity, but a legal entitlement.
Hunger is inconsistent with human dignity and human rights, and must be
eliminated. Towards this end, the State shall provide for a framework to
address and eliminate hunger in an organized manner, and protect the right
of the people to adequate food.


The NeHS shall be integrated, comprehensive, interoperable, progressive,
secure and sustainable based on best current and future practices, and shall
facilitate inter-agency and inter-sectoral coordination at various levels of
governance covering both the public and private sectors. It shall recognize
eHealth as supplemental and complementary with other healthcare delivery
methods to the extent allowable by existing laws, provide and support
healthcare delivery, including diagnosis, consultation, treatment, transfer of
care of patient, exchange of health data and education, especially in medically
unserved and underserved geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas
(GIDAs).

Sec. 3. Objectives. This Act shall provide a holistic framework that
establishes a NeHS, which shall:

a. Set policies, standards, priorities, plans, programs and projects that
promote and ensure streamlined and safely regulated delivery of
eHealth services to reduce inequalities, achieve universal health care,
and better health outcomes; and

b. Clarify roles of agencies, institutions, and entities regarding their
performance and accountabilities in building national and local eHealth
capacity and measuring results.

Sec. 4. Scope and Limitation. This Act covers all existing health care
providers and other entities developing and using eHealth systems, services
and applications and tools, whether public or private, including relevant
standard equipment in the field of health and ancillary services that use ICT
and are complementary to existing minimum modalities or standards of
health care and other means of access to information.

Sec. 5. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act:

a. Compliant eHealth services and applications refer to the
requirements of a defined architecture of eHealth standards that enable
services and systems, allow for interoperability of health services and
information exchange across geographic, organizational, network,
vendor boundaries, and ensure data protection in accordance with
Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10173, otherwise known as the “Data Privacy
Act” and other related laws and issuances;


b. eHealth or Electronic health refers to the use of cost-effective and
secure information and communications technology for health care
practice, also referred to as digital health;

c. eHealth data services refer to key architectural data registries of the
health sector needed to enable and support large scale health
information interoperability and exchange;

d. eHealth System refers to the interplay of enabling and foundational
elements essential for a successful national eHealth implementation,
namely, (1) governance and accountability, (2) standards and
interoperability, (3) services and operations, (4) telehealth, (5) human
resources, (6) infrastructure, (7) strategy and investment, (8) monitoring
and compliance, and (9) research and development;

e. eHealth services and applications refer to the solutions, products
and innovations with defined objectives to serve its intended clients or
users, such as health information systems, electronic medical record
systems, electronic health record system, enterprise resource planning
system, ePharmacy system, laboratory system, radiology system,
electronic prescription system, human resource information system,
registry systems, mobile health, telehealth, telemedicine,
wearables, and biomedical and related devices with ICT component;

f. Electronic health record (EHR) refers to a computerized health record
used to capture, store, access and share information of a patient
between and across health care providers and health-related entities;

g. Electronic medical record (EMR) refers to a computerized medical
record used to capture, store and share information of a patient to
health care providers in an institution or organization;

h, Electronic prescription (ePrescription) refers to a system that allows
healthcare providers to write and send prescriptions in an automated
or electronic way to a pharmacy with capability to receive such;

i. Geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) refer to
barangays specifically disadvantaged due to the presence of both
physical and socio-economic factors. For a barangay to be classified as
GIDA, both physical and socio-economic factors must be present:


1.Physical factors are characteristics that limit the delivery of

and/or access to basic health services to communities that are
difficult to reach due to distance, weather conditions, and
transportation difficulties;

2.Socioeconomic factors are social, cultural, and economic
characteristics of the community that limit access to and utilization
of health services;

j. Health sector enterprise architecture refers to the blueprint on which
eHealth services and applications shall be developed, implemented, and
scaled up; and

k. Information and communications technology refers to all technologies
for the communication of information, which include data, application
or information systems, internet, network, —_ connectivity,
telecommunications, among others.

Sec. 6. Implementing Agency. The Department of Health (DOH) shall be
the lead implementing agency to carry out the provisions of this Act. The DOH
shall strengthen and transform its existing Knowledge Management and
Information Technology Service (KMITS) into a full-fledged Bureau, to be
called as the National eHealth Information and Services Bureau (NeHISB), and
which shall perform the overall management and administration of this Act.
The additional plantilla position to be created for this purpose shall be
submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for
evaluation and approval. The standard of adequacy includes a number of
factors which must be considered in determining whether particular foods or
diets that are accessible can be considered the most appropriate under given
circumstances. Sustainability is intrinsically linked to the concept of
adequate food or food security, implying that food must be accessible to both
present and future generations.

The Bureau shall also serve as a secretariat of the eHealth Policy and
Coordination Council as provided in Sec. 8 hereof.

Sec. 7. Regional and Local Implementation Structures and Staffing
Person. To assist in the implementation of this Act, the regional
organizational structures shall be lodged under the Center for Health
Development of the DOH while local organizational structures shall be subject
to the discretion of the local government units (LGUs) in relation to Section
76 of R.A. No. 7160 or the “Local Government Code of 1991.”


ARTICLE II
GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Sec. 8. Creation of the eHealth Policy and Coordination Council.
There shall be created an independent body to be known as the eHealth Policy
and Coordination Council, hereby referred to as the Council, to provide and
promote relevant policies and guidelines for the effective coordination and
implementation of this Act. The Council shall be composed of the following
key officials:

a. Secretary, DOH - Chairperson
b. Secretary, DICT - Co-Chairperson

c. President & Chief Executive Officer, PhilHealth - Co-Chairperson
d. Secretary, DOST;

e. Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWS);
f. Secretary, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)

Secretary. DBM;

rom

Chancellor, University of the Philippines - Manila (UPM);
i. Chairman, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC);

j. Chairperson, Commission on Higher Education (CHED);

k. Chairperson, National Privacy Commission (NPC);

1. National Statistician, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA);

m. Two (2) representatives from professional medical or health societies;
n. One (1) representative from patients’ group; and

0. One (1) representative from the ICT industry associations.

The heads of government agencies may be represented by a designated
official whose rank shall not be lower than Assistant Secretary or its
equivalent. Members representing the private sector shall be appointed by the
President of the Philippines not later than thirty (30) days after the effectivity
of this Act and shall serve for a term of three (3) years, renewable upon
recommendation of the Council for a maximum of two (2) consecutive terms.


The government agency-members of the Council shall have the authority
to act upon and decide on all urgent matters pending the formation of the
Council and the appointment of members from the private sector by the
President of the Philippines.

Sec. 9. Powers and Duties of the Council. The Council shall exercise the
following powers and functions:

a. Define and promote over-all eHealth policies, standards and reg-
ulations at all levels of health care system, public and private;

b. Ensure integration and coordination of national and local eHealth
tives; and

strategies and i

c. Submit yearly assessments and accomplishment reports to the Sen-
ate Committee on Health and Demography and the House of Repre-
sentatives Committee on Health for performance monitoring and eval-
uation.

Sec. 10. Ensuring Broader Participation in eHealth Implementation.
The Council shall create multi-sectoral groups, composed of both the pri-
vate and public sectors to ensure broader stakeholder participation and for
the furtherance of its objectives.

Setting up of the sub-structures or mechanisms shall be in accordance
with R.A, No. 11223, otherwise known as the “Universal Health Care Act” and
other related issuances.

ARTICLE III
STANDARDS AND INTEROPERABILITY

Sec. 11. Health Sector Enterprise Architecture. The NeHS shall be op-
erated within the health sector enterprise architecture that aligns and ensure
that health and health-related data are made available and accessible anytime
and anywhere to various stakeholders, business processes for health are
streamlined and integrated, and services and applications are usable, safe,
efficient and effective, following the health care business model provided under
R.A. No. 11223, otherwise known as the “Universal Health Care Act” and other
related issuances.

Rationalization for safety and cost effectiveness, scope and standards for
design and use of technologies in the health sector shall also be defined in
this architecture.

All health care providers and health-related entities shall adopt a health en-
terprise architecture as defined and guided by the Council.



Sec. 12. Standards Compliance. All health care providers and health-
related entities shall comply with the data standards to allow interoperability
and health information exchange, and ensure data protection in accordance
with R.A. No. 10173, otherwise known as the “Data Privacy Act” and other
related laws and issuances.

These standards shall include, inter alia, patient identifier, health care pro-
vider identifiers, and terminology and messaging standards, and shall be
in accordance with the Philippine eGovernment interoperability and data
security framework, and other relevant standards.

ARTICLE IV
SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS

Sec. 13. Rationalization of eHealth Services and Applications. De-
sign, development, and implementation of eHealth services and applications
shall focus on the automation and interoperability of the various mandatory
business processes and data services in the health sector as laid out in the
Health Sector Enterprise Architecture which shall comply with regulatory
requirements and may be subjected to health technology assessment.

Sec. 14. Scope of eHealth Services and Applications. eHealth services
shall include the following areas:

a. Mandatory eHealth Data Services:
Master Person Index

Master Provider (Human Resources) Index
Master Facility Index

Terminology or Health Services Registry
National Immunization Registry

Ssenr

b. | Compliant eHealth Services and Applications:

Electronic Health Record/Electronic Medical Record
Health Information Exchange

Health Facility Operations and Management
Disease Registries

TeleHealth/TeleMedicine

Human Resources in eHealth

Supply Chain Management

Neos one

ARTICLE V
TELEHEALTH

Sec. 15. Regulations of TeleHealth Services and eHealth Related De-
vices. The Council, through the DOH, shall establish and maintain a regula-
tory system for telehealth services and eHealth-related devices.


Sec. 16. Standards of Practice and Certification of Individuals and
Entities Providing TeleHealth Services. To complement the regulations of
telehealth services and eHealth- related devices, the PRC and the DOH, in
consultation with PhilHealth, UPM - National TeleHealth Center, DICT,
academia, medical and specialty societies, non-government organizations,
and the private and business sectors, shall set the standards of practice and
implement a certification mechanism for health care providers and health-
related entities providing telehealth services. Department of Agriculture (DA).

ARTICLE VI
HUMAN RESOURCES

Sec. 17. Human Resource in eHealth. Health care professionals shall
plan, design, build, operate, use, maintain and support eHealth services and
applications.

The DOH, PRC, CHED, DICT, and Technical Education and Skills Devel-
opment Authority (TESDA), in consultation with medical and specialty soci-
eties, IT professional associations, and academia, shall establish the mii
mum competencies and impose the same on health, health-related and digi-
tal health professionals. This shall be part of the curriculum of health and
health-related courses.

Sec. 18. Human Resource for eHealth Development Again. The DOH,
PRC, CHED, and TESDA shall formulate the Human Resource for eHealth
Development Plan which shall develop new curricula, integrate changes in
existing curricula, create formal and non-formal training programs, and con-
tinuing professional development programs concerning the practice of
eHealth. There shall also be creation of personnel services item, plantilla
positions, and other employment opportunities for human resource in gov-
ernment hospitals and institutions to manage and enable eHealth in
healthcare and related services.

ARTICLE VII
INFRASTRCTURE

Sec. 19. ICT Infrastructure. The DICT, in coordination with DOH, Phil-
Health, and DOST, shall establish and maintain the necessary national ICT
infrastructure to implement eHealth services and applications.

Sec. 20. National eHealth Data Center. he PhilHealth, in coordination
with the DOH, DICT and DOST, shall establish and maintain the National
eHealth Data Center, and implement an agile and sustainable data man-
agement and governance framework and system in support to R.A. No.


11223, otherwise known as the “Universal Health Care Act,” and in compli-
ance with R.A. No. 10173, otherwise known as the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”
for data protection.

ARTICLE VIII
STRATEGY AND INVESTMENT

Sec. 21. National eHealth Strategic Framework and Plan. The Council
shall spearhead the development and monitoring of strategic framework
and plan to serve and guide the operations of the NeHS.

Sec. 22. Financing the eHealth Strategic Framework and Plan. Fi-
nancing for the NeHS by DOH, PhilHealth and other partners, as defined by
the Council, shall be made available to scale up eHealth implementation at the
national! level.

Sec. 23. Private Sector Participation. The DOH shall promulgate rules
regarding the participation of the private sector, including public-private
partnerships, and other suitable arrangements, in the provision of eHealth
services, applications, and ICT infrastructure.

ARTICLE IX
MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE

Sec. 24. Monitoring and Compliance. The Council shall measure and
monitor the performance and progress of the implementation of this Act.

ARTICLE X
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 25. Research and Development. Consistent with R.A. No. 10532,
otherwise known as the “Philippine National Health Research System Act of
2013,” and the mandate of the DOST, the DOST - Philippine Council for
Health Research and Development (DOST- PCHRD), in consultation with
DOH, PRC, CHED, DICT, PhilHealth, UPM - National TeleHealth Center,
academia, regional health research consortia, medical and specialty soci-
eties, non-government organizations, and the private and business sectors,
shall ensure the development of new eHealth services and applications
through:

a. Formulation of eHealth research priority areas under the National
Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA), and other research agendas;

b. Funding and mobilizing resources for researches on eHealth, in-
cluding creation of formal and non-formal capability building programs
for the development of a pool of eHealth researchers and innovators,
which are aligned with the research agenda;


c. Establishment and strengthening of centers of excellence of eHealth
policy studies, research and development; and

d. Establishment and adherence of mechanisms that strengthen
eHealth innovation research and strategy to the health technology
assessment process as provided under R.A. No. 11223, otherwise
known as the “Universal Health Care Act,” and that integrate explicit use
of evidence into the policy and decision-making process and national
eHealth standards, and support the growth of research consortia on
eHealth;

A separate unit within the PCHRD shall handle and manage eHealth
related activities and programs. The human resource requirement of such
unit shall be determined by PCHRD in consultation with the DOH, CSC and
DBM.

ARTICLE XI
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES

Sec. 26. Rules and Procedures for Administrative Violations and
Complaints. The Council shall promulgate rules and procedures relating
to administrative violations and complaints, insofar as they relate to the
establishment and operations of the NeHS.

ARTICLE XII
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 27. Appropriations. The amount necessary for the implementation
of this Act shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations Act.

Sec. 28. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within one hundred
eighty days (180) days from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of DOH,
shall, after consultation with the Secretaries of DICT and DOST, the Presi-
dent and Chief Executive Office of PhilHealth, the Chancellor of UPM, the
Chairman of the PRC, the Chairperson of CHED, the National Statistician
of PSA, and representatives of medical and paramedical associations and
societies, and other stakeholders, promulgate the necessary rules

and regulations implementing the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 29. Transitory Provisions. The transformation of KMITS into a full-
fledged Bureau and the formulation of the internal organic structure and
regional and local implementation structures, staffing pattern, operating sys-
tem, and the revised budget of the DOH for health information technology
shall be completed within six (6) months from the promulgation of the Imple-
menting Rules and Regulations of this Act, during which time, the existing
KMITS and regional and local implementation personnel shall continue to

10


serve in holdover capacities until a full and permanent Bureau is constituted
and functioning, and new appointments are issued.

Sec. 30. Separability Clause. If any part or provision of this Act is
held invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not af-
fected shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 31. Repealing Clause. All general and special laws, decrees, exec-
utive orders, proclamations and administrative regulation, or parts thereof
which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended and mod-
ified accordingly.

Sec. 32. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,