Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______________
Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Article
II,
Section
15
of
the
Constitution
gives
the
State
the
responsibility of protecting and promoting people’s right to health. This is
operationalized in Article XIII, Section 11, which mandates the State with
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.
The digitalization of medical services is the new frontier in Philippine
public health. Early into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health
sought to tap into this form of health services with COVID-19 hotlines
02-894-COVID (26843) and 1555.1 Then the DOH was able to set up 24/7
hotlines both for “COVID-19 medical advice and health concerns unrelated
to the virus”: 1) (02) 8424-1724 for Telimed Management Inc and Medgate;
and 2) (02) 7798-8000: Globe and TM users.2
We must eagerly pursue the institutionalization and development of
eHealth, especially since our experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic has
proven it to be so useful:3
Cisco
mobilized
its
country
digitization
acceleration
program
dubbed
UGNAYAN 2030, a collaboration platform that focuses on enabling key
critical digital initiatives to build the country’s digital resilience. Launched
during the pandemic year, UGNAYAN 2030 served as a catalyst in providing
remote work technology that built the foundation for telehealth in the
country.
3
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/22/doh-logs-2300000-minutes-in-conference-calls-and-tele
medicine-over-cisco-webex/
2 Id.
1
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/07/20/doh-launches-247-hotline-in-metro-manila-fo
r-free-medical-consultations
August 16, 2022
1:05 pm
3659


Through UGNAYAN 2030, Cisco Philippines extended support to the [DOH]
in building its capacity to conduct online consultations, virtual meetings,
and respond to large volumes of calls from patients all over the country via
Cisco
Webex
licenses
and devices. Hundreds of Webex licenses were
distributed to various health facilities all over the country.
Over the past year, the DOH conducted 17,400 sessions over Webex,
amounting to over 2.3 million minutes of meetings and consultations. In the
past
three
months
alone,
the
DOH
has
engaged
with over 100,000
stakeholders and patients per month.
x x x “Because of the pandemic, health institutions had to make many of its
offline services available online, which is a complicated process. With Cisco
Webex, DOH was able to set up its online conferencing infrastructure
quickly and continue to serve the public when they needed it the most.”
It is evident that as envisioned, telemedicine has been working well in
terms of enabling patient referral systems and in minimizing health workers’
exposure to COVID-19.4
Given these advantages, then, it would only be prudent for us to seize
this momentum and have the DOH build on whatever lessons it has gained
in the course of digitizing a lot of its services.
Hence the need for this Bill. It shall develop, regularly update, and
implement a health sector enterprise architecture while also setting up the
ICT infrastructure needed for swift, reliable telemedicine services. It shall
rationalize eHealth services and applications. It shall provide means for
regulating
telehealth
services
and
eHealth-related
devices,
as
well
as
enforcing
standards
of
practice
and
certification
requirements
for
individuals and entities providing telehealth services. Finally, it shall secure
the funding for the massive endeavor of scaling up eHealth implementation
at the national level and keeping it running, even after the COVID-19
pandemic has passed.
It is for the foregoing premises that the approval of this Bill is
earnestly sought.
ALFRED C. DELOS SANTOS
Representative, Ang Probinsyano Party-List
4
https://doh.gov.ph/press-release/DOH%27S-TELEMEDICINE-INITIATIVE-STRENGTHENS-PROVISION-OF-PRIMAR
Y-HEALTH-CARE-SERVICES


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______________
Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE ELECTRONIC HEALTH (eHEALTH) SYSTEM AND
SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE USING
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY,
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Short Title. –
This Act shall be known as the “eHealth
System and Services Act.”
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – It shall be State policy to protect
and
promote
the
right
to
health
of
all
Filipinos
and
instill
health
consciousness
among
them.
Towards
this
end,
the
State
shall
institutionalize a system of providing wide access and quality healthcare
information and services through electronic means using information and
communication technologies (ICT) to improve health outcomes for every
Filipino and recognize public and private partnerships.
The
eHealth
system
shall
be
comprehensive,
integrated,
interconnected, sustainable, measurable, synchronized, interoperable, and
progressive based on best practices, and shall facilitate inter-agency and
inter-sectoral coordination at various levels of governance covering both the
public and private sectors. The State shall recognize eHealth as equal 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 a patient, exchange of health data, and
education, especially in medically unserved and underserved geographically
isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAS).
SECTION 3. Statement of Objectives. – This Act shall have the
following objectives:
3659


a) Provide a policy framework and establish a system that shall direct
and regulate the practice of eHealth;
b) Set policies, standards, regulations, and services in eHealth to
reduce inequalities, achieve universal health care, and improve
health outcomes;
c) Realize
health
information exchange to measure and monitor
health system performance and responsiveness; and
d) Enable the citizenry with access to health information and health
services, including telehealth, needed for better management and
control of their own health.
SECTION 4. Scope and Application. – This Act covers all existing
healthcare
providers
and
other
entities
developing and using eHealth
systems, services, and applications, whether public or private. It includes all
other
eHealth
solutions,
services,
and
applications
including
relevant
standard equipment in the field of health and ancillary services that utilize
ICT
and
complements
existing
minimum
modalities
or
standards
of
healthcare and other access to information.
SECTION 5. Definition of Terms. – The following terms, as used in this
Act, shall be understood thusly:
a) eHealth System. –
Interplay of enabling elements essential for a
successful
eHealth
implementation—which include governance,
accountability, strategy, investment, human resources, standards,
interoperability,
monitoring,
compliance,
research
and
development, infrastructure, services, and applications;
b) eHealth Services and Applications. – Solutions and products with
defined objectives to serve their intended clients or users, such as
health
information
systems,
electronic
medical
record
(EMR)
systems,
electronic
health
record
(HER)
systems,
hospital
information
systems,
ePharmacy
systems,
laboratory
systems,
radiology
systems, registry systems, mobile health, telehealth,
telemedicine, wearables, and biomedical and related devices with
ICT component;
c) Electronic Health (eHealth). – Use of cost-effective and secure ICT
for health;
d) Electronic Health Record (EHR). – Computerized health records
used to capture, store, access, and share information for a patient
between healthcare organizations and providers;
e) Electronic Medical Record (EMR). – Computerized medical records
used to capture, store, and share information between healthcare
providers in an organization;
f)
Geographically
isolated
and
disadvantaged
areas
(GIDAS).
–
Communities with marginalized populations, separated from the
mainstream society and characterized by: 1) distance, weather
conditions, and transportation difficulties; and 2) high poverty
incidence, presence of vulnerable sector/s, or the condition of
being in or having to recover from a crisis or armed conflict;


g) Health
Sector
Enterprise
Architecture.
–
Blueprint
on
which
eHealth services and applications shall be developed, implemented,
and scaled up;
h) Health Knowledge Resources. – Services that manage and provide
access to trusted information to support health care providers and
individuals, including local and international online journals and
resource
collections,
national
electronic
journals,
printed
information, archives, and other information sources;
i)
Information
and
Communications
Technology
(ICT).
–
All
technologies for the communication of information, which includes
data,
application
or
information
systems,
internet,
network,
connectivity, and telecommunications, among others;
j)
Mobile Health (mHealth). – Services and information supported by
mobile
technology,
such
as
mobile
phones,
wearables,
and
handheld computers;
k) Personal Health Record. – Computerized health record created and
maintained by an individual;
l)
TeleHealth. – Delivery of health-related services and information, at
a distance, which encompasses preventive, promotive, curative,
and palliative aspects and include a collection of means or methods
for enhancing health care, public health, health research, and
health education delivery and support in the various health fields
using telecommunications and virtual technologies; and
m) Telemedicine. – Remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by
means of telecommunications technologies.
SECTION 6. Implementing Agency. – The Department of Health (DOH)
shall be the lead implementing agency for carrying out the provisions of this
Act, including its components. The DOH shall strengthen and transform its
existing
Knowledge
Management
and
Information
Technology
Service
(KMITS) into a full-fledged bureau, to be named the Knowledge Management
and Health Information Technology Bureau (“the Bureau”), which shall
perform the overall management and administration of this Act. Additional
plantilla positions may be created for this purpose.
The Bureau shall also serve as a secretariat of the eHealth Policy and
Coordination Council as provided in Section 7 hereof.
SECTION 7. eHealth Policy and Coordination Council. – There shall be
created an independent body to be known as the eHealth Policy and
Coordination Council (“the Council”), for providing and promoting 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 of Health, as chairperson;
b) Secretary
of
Information
and Communications Technology, as
co-chair;
c) President and Chief Executive Officer of the Philippine Health
Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), as co-chair;


d) Secretary of Science and Technology;
e) Secretary of Social Welfare and Development;
f)
Secretary of Interior and Local Government;
g) Secretary of Budget and Management;
h) Chancellor, University of the Philippines – Manila (UPM);
i)
Chairperson, Commission on Higher Education (CHED);
j)
Chairperson, National Privacy Commission (NPC);
k) National Statistician, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA);
l)
Two
(2)
representatives
from
professional
medical
or
health
societies;
m) One (1) representative from patients’ group; and
n) One (1) representative from the IT industry associations.
SECTION 9. Powers and Duties. –
The Council shall exercise the
following powers and functions:
a) Establish
eHealth policies, standards, regulations, and ethical
frameworks pertinent to use, practice, and provision of eHealth
services;
b) Direct and coordinate the eHealth services and applications at the
national level and ensure alignment of the system and services
with the overall health and ICT goals of the government;
c) Spearhead the activities that promote eHealth awareness and
engage the participation of the stakeholders;
d) Submit yearly assessments to the Senate Committee on Health and
Demography and the House of Representatives Committee on
Health; and
e) Promulgate
rules
and
procedures,
relating
to
administrative
violations
and
complaints,
insofar
as
they
relate
to
the
establishment and operations of the National eHealth System.
SECTION 10. Sub-structure for Broader Stakeholder Participation. –
The Council shall create multi-sectoral groups, composed of both the private
and public sectors, to ensure broader stakeholder participation.
SECTION 11. Health Sector Enterprise Architecture. – The Council
shall develop, regularly update, and implement a health sector enterprise
architecture to provide guidance to align and ensure that data are easily
made available and accessible, business processes are harmonized and
integrated, and services and applications are usable, safe, efficient, and
effective.
SECTION 12. Standards Compliance. – All health and health-related
entities shall comply with the data standards, as defined by the Council, to
allow interoperability and health information exchange, and ensure data
protection in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173 (“Data Privacy Act”)
and other related laws and issuances.


These standards include, among others, patient identifier, provider
identifier,
health
facility
identifier,
and
terminology
and
messaging
standards. These standards shall be in accordance with the Philippine
eGovernment interoperability framework and other relevant standards.
SECTION 13. Rationalization of eHealth Services and Applications. –
Design,
development,
and
implementation
of
eHealth
services
and
applications shall focus on the automation and interoperability of the
various mandatory eHealth business processes and data services as laid out
in the Health Sector Enterprise Architecture.
SECTION 14. Scope of eHealth Services and Applications. – eHealth
includes the following areas:
a) Mandatory eHealth Data Services:
1) Master Person Index
2) Master Provider Index
3) Master Facility Index
4) Terminology Registry
b) Compliant eHealth Application:
1) Electronic Medical Record
2) Enterprise Resource Planning
3) Laboratory, Radiology, and ePrescription
4) Human Resources for Health Information System
5) TeleHealth
SECTION 15. Regulations of TeleHealth Services and eHealth Related
Devices. – The Council, through the DOH, shall establish and maintain a
regulatory system for telehealth services and eHealth-related devices.
SECTION 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 DOH shall, in
consultation with Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC), PhilHealth,
UPM
–
National
TeleHealth
Center,
DICT,
the
academe,
medical and
specialty societies, non-government organizations (NGOs), and the private
business sectors, set the standards of practice and implement a certification
mechanism for individuals and entities providing telehealth services.
SECTION 17. Human Resource in eHealth. – The human resources for
eHealth are health professionals who shall plan, design, build, operate, use,
maintain, and support the eHealth services and applications.
The DOH, CHED, DICT, Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA), and PRC, in consultation with medical and specialty
societies, IT professional associations, and the academe, shall establish the
minimum competencies and impose the same on health, health-related, and


digital health professionals. This shall be part of the curriculum of health
and health-related courses.
SECTION 18. Human Resource Development Plan. – The DOH, CHED,
TESDA, and PRC shall formulate the Human Resource Development Plan,
which shall develop new curricula, integrate changes in existing curricula,
create
formal
and
non-formal
training
programs,
and
continuing
professional
development
programs.
There
shall
also
be
creation
of
personnel
services
items,
plantilla
positions,
and
other
employment
opportunities for human resource in government hospitals and institutions
to manage and enable eHealth in healthcare and related services.
SECTION 19. ICT Infrastructure. – The DICT, in coordination with
DOH, PhilHealth, and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST),
shall establish the necessary national ICT infrastructure to implement
eHealth services and applications.
SECTION
20.
National
Health
Data
Center.
–
The
DICT,
in
coordination with DOH, PhilHealth, and DOST, shall establish the necessary
national ICT infrastructure to implement eHealth services and applications.
SECTION 21. National eHealth Strategic Framework and Plan. – The
PhilHealth shall, in coordination with the DOH, DICT, and DOST, establish
and maintain the national health data center, in support to Republic Act No.
11223 (“Universal Health Care Act”) and in compliance with Republic Act
No. 10173 (“Data Privacy Act of 2012”).
SECTION 22. Financing eHealth Strategic Framework and Plan. –
Financing for the national eHealth system by DOH, PhilHealth, and other
partners, as defined by the Council, shall be made available to scale up
eHealth implementation at the national level.
SECTION 23. Public-Private Sector Participation. – The DOH shall
promulgate rules regarding the participation of the private sector in the
provision of eHealth services and applications, including public-private
partners and other suitable arrangements.
SECTION
24.
Monitoring
and
Compliance.
–
The
Council
shall
measure and monitor the performance and progress of the implementation
of this Act.
SECTION 25. Research and Development. – Consistent with Republic
Act No. 10532 (“Philippine National Health Research System Act of 2013”)
and the mandate of DOST, the DOST – Philippine Council for Health
Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) shall, in consultation with DOH,
CHED, DICT, PhilHealth, UPM – National TeleHealth Center, academia,
regional health research consortia, medical and specialty societies, NGOs,
and the private business sectors, ensure the development of new eHealth
services, applications, and innovations 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 which
are aligned with the research agenda;
c) Establishment
and
strengthening
of
centers
of
excellence
of
eHealth research; and
d) Adherence of eHealth research outputs to the health technology
assessment process as provided in the Universal Health Care Act.
SECTION 26. Funding Source for Research and Development. – The
DOH, PhilHealth, DOST, DICT, CHED, and DILG shall allocate at least 1% of
their respective annual regular budget in support of eHealth research and
development. Other development agencies, state universities and colleges
(SUCs), private entities, and NGOs are encouraged to provide financial
support for eHealth research and development.
SECTION 27. Administrative Penalties. – Any person or entity who
violates the provision under Sections 12, 15, and 16 of this Act shall, after
due
notice
and
hearing,
be
penalized
by
the
following
schedule
of
administrative fines:
a) For the first offense, the person or entity shall receive a written
admonition with a warning that the next offense shall be penalized;
b) For the second offense, the person or entity shall be fined an
amount of fifty thousand pesos (PhP 50,000.00); and
c) For the third offense, the person or entity shall be fined an amount
of one hundred thousand pesos (PhP 100,000.00) and revocation of
certificate
to
operate
telehealth
services
and
ehealth
related
devices.
The schedule of fines under this Act may be increased by the Council
every five years.
The administrative penalties shall be without prejudice to criminal
liability in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173 (“Data Privacy Act”) and
other related laws.
SECTION 28. Transitory Provisions. – Within ninety (90) days from the
effectivity of this Act, during the transformation of KMITS into a full-fledged
Bureau, the existing KMITS shall serve in a holdover capacity until a full
and permanent bureau is constituted.
SECTION 29. Appropriations. – The amount necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriation of the
year following its enactment into law. Further, other sources of funds may


come
from
the
Private
Sector
Participation
Program,
Joint
DOH-PhilHealth-DICT-DOST undertakings on eHealth, and Medium-Term
Information
and
Communications
Technology
Harmonization
Initiative
(MITHI).
SECTION 30. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety
(90) days from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of DOH shall, after
consultation with the Secretaries of DICT and DOST, the President and
Chief Executive Officer of PhilHealth, Chancellor of UPM, 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.
SECTION 31. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part of this Act
is
held invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or parts
unaffected shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION
32.
Repealing
Clause.
–
All
laws,
executive
orders,
presidential decrees or issuances, letters of instruction, administrative
orders, rules, and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
SECTION 33. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation.
Approved,