1 
Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE, ERIC G. YAP, 
EDVIC G. YAP, and JEFFREY SORIANO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
There is a need to capitalize on the country’s digital infrastructure as the gradual 
transition of various transactions have been gearing towards digitalization such as 
online banking, commerce, learning, and most especially governance.   
Health is among the primary ministerial duty of the state. The protection and 
promotion of the right to health of the people and availability of health services are 
guaranteed by the Constitution. Furthermore, during the proliferation of the COVID-
19 pandemic, on-site delivery of health services becomes generally limited, resulting 
to the prevalence of online health consultations, thereby guaranteeing an ease and 
efficiency in healthcare delivery. 
In pursuit to incorporate the said effectivity and efficiency in the delivery of healthcare 
services, this bill seeks to institutionalize a system that provides a wide access to 
quality health information and services using information and communication 
technology (ICT), referred to as the National eHealth System (NeHS). This proposed 
measure will also be incongruence with the current initiatives of the government in 
transitioning to digital transactions. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
ERIC G. YAP 
        EDVIC G. YAP 
           JEFFREY SORIANO 
September 14, 2022
10:26 am
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE, ERIC G. YAP, 
EDVIC G. YAP, and JEFFREY SORIANO 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE ELECTRONIC HEALTH OR HEALTH 
SYSTEM AND SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE, AND 
APPROPRIATING 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 Policy. - 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. 
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). 
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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 Application. - 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 Health 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, 


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


 
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SEC. 7. Regional and Local Implementation Structures and Staffing Pattern. - 
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 (DSWD); 
f. Secretary, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG); 
g. Secretary, DBM; 
h. 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); 
l. National Statistician, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); 
m. Two (2) representatives from professional medical or health societies; 
n. One (1) representative from patients' group; and 
o. 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: 
 


 
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a. Define and promote over-all eHealth policies, standards and regulations at 
all levels of health care system, public and private; 
 
b. Ensure integration and coordination of national and local eHealth strategies 
and initiatives; and 
 
c. Submit yearly assessments and accomplishment reports to the Senate 
Committee on Health and Demography and the House of Representatives 
Committee on Health for performance monitoring and evaluation. 
 
SEC. 10. Ensuring Broader Participation in Health Implementation. - The 
Council shall create multi-sectoral groups, composed of both the private 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 operated 
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 
enterprise 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 provider 
identifiers, and terminology and messaging standards, and shall be in accordance 
with the Philippine Government interoperability and data security framework, and 
other relevant standards. 
 


 
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ARTICLE IV 
SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS 
 
SEC. 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 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: 
1. Master Person Index 
2. Master Provider (Human Resources) Index 
3. Master Facility Index 
4. Terminology or Health Services Registry 
5. National Immunization Registry 
 
b. Compliant eHealth Services and Applications: 
1. Electronic Health Record/Electronic Medical Record 
2. Health Information Exchange 
3. Health Facility Operations and Management 
4. Disease Registries 
5. TeleHealth/TeleMedicine 
6. Human Resources in eHealth 
7. Supply Chain Management 
 
 
ARTICLE V 
TELEHEALTH 
 
SEC. 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. 
 
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. 
 
 
 


 
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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 
Development Authority (TESDA), in consultation with medical and specialty 
societies, IT professional associations, and academia, 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. 
 
SEC. 18. Human Resource for eHealth Development Plan. - 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 continuing 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 government hospitals and institutions to manage and enable eHealth in 
healthcare and related services. 
 
 
ARTICLE VII 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
 
SEC. 19. ICT Infrastructure. - The DICT, in coordination with DOH, 
PhilHealth, and DOST, shall establish and maintain the necessary national ICT 
infrastructure to implement eHealth services and applications. 
 
SEC. 20. National Health Data Center. - The 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 management and governance 
framework and system in support to R.A. No. 11223, otherwise known as the 
“Universal Health Care Act”, and in compliance 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. - Financing 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. 
  


 
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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 societies, 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, including 
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. 
 
 


 
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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 President 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 system, and the revised 
budget of the DOH for health information technology shall be completed within six 
(6) months from the promulgation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of this 
Act, during which time, the existing KMITS and regional and local implementation 
personnel shall continue to 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 affected shall 
remain in full force and effect. 
 
SEC. 31. Repealing Clause. - All general and special laws, decrees, executive 
orders, proclamations and administrative regulation, or parts thereof which are 
inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended and modified 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,