In supporting the healthcare delivery in the Philippines we go back to the Aquino Health Agenda, which is the Universal Health Care or Kalusugang Pangkalahatan or KP. According to Secretary Enrique Ona in 2010 the health policy directions of KP are:
1) A roadmap towards universal health care through a
refocused PhilHealth;
2) Particular attention to the construction, rehabilitation,
and support of health facilities
3) Attainment of Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, and 6
4) Attain efficiency by using information technology (IT) in
all aspects of health care
5) Increased attention to trauma, the 4th leading cause of
death
6) More aggressive promotion of healthy lifestyle to prevent
NCD
7) Attention to emerging diseases
8) Improve the access to quality affordable medicines
9) Continuing efforts in improving governance and regulation
to eliminate graft and
corruption in all areas of health care
10) Improve the plight of health workers through
interventions in health education,
placement, compensation, among others
I highlighted the use of information communication technologies as a form of support in delivering health care to the Filipinos for better health outcomes.
Background:
There is a wide gap in the providing and access to health service, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
The distribution of health human resources mostly favor the urban areas.
There is limited access to information and specialist consultation on the Doctors in marginalised areas.
Advances in information and communications technologies (ICT) have potential to address such situations.
The Telehealth Bill Proposes a the creation of a National Telehealth System (single, coordinated, country-wide effort) to:
- govern the practice and promote the development of telehealth
- facilitate inter-agency and inter-sectoral collaboration
- covers both the public and private sectors
- Accountability
- Privacy and Confidentiality
- Monitoring
- Governance
- Policy and Standards
- Responsible Governing body
Telehealth Act to serve as a policy framework based on:
- State policy to protect and promote right to health
- State policy to promote and develop the use of ICT
- Aquino Administration's Kalusugan Pangkalahatan (KP) to provide universal health care for all Filipinos
Benefits:
- Promotes and develops telehealth as a means to address health gaps
- Provides direct benefits to both health care recipients (patients) and providers (doctors)
- Delivery of quality health care service to all Filipinos
- Forward thinking measure to set parameters and rules in the field of telehealth
- Centralization of databases for immediate decision-making and research in the long run
I find that the bill is just a summary of what the practice of telehealth and ehealth. It needs more research and should be updated to address the pressing concerns on data privacy, standards and policies.
Assignment:
Pick two sections in the proposed bill. Evaluate and suggest revisions if any.
Pick two sections in the proposed bill. Evaluate and suggest revisions if any.
SECTION 5. Telehealth
as an Authorized Procedure – The delivery of health care via telehealth is
recognized and encouraged as a safe, practical, and necessary practice in the
Philippines. All health care providers shall be encouraged to participate in
telehealth pursuant to the Telehealth Act. In using telehealth procedures,
health care providers shall comply with all applicable State guidelines and
shall follow established State rules that are consistent with accepted safe
clinical norms, as well as security, confidentiality, and privacy protections
for health information.
The Department of
Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) shall require
telehealth practitioners in both originating and distant sites to undergo
accreditation, through the National Telehealth Reference Center.
The
Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC)
shall require telehealth
practitioners in both originating and distant sites to undergo accreditation,
through the National Telehealth
Reference Center.
–National
Telehealth
Reference Center refers
to the main agency responsible for developing accreditation mechanisms for telehealth and
telemedicine systems, maintaining national databases and case registries,
training and assistance, and continuing education for all telehealth
practitioners
Evaluation and Suggestion:
The
Medical Act of 1959 has defined individuals engaged in the practice of medicine
as follows: 1) who shall physically examine and diagnose, treat, operate or
prescribe any remedy.
The definition of terms should be updated and policies must be in place on the practice of Telehealth. The provider and the consumer must be protected.
We
need to define first ethical and legal framework of the practice of Telehealth in
the Philippines.
Even if there is an agency responsible for the accreditation of Telehealth practitioners, policies and standards should be defined.
SECTION 7. Lead
Agency – The Department of Health (DOH) shall be the lead agency in
implementing this Act. For purposes of achieving the objectives of this Act,
the DOH shall:
(1) Establish a National Telehealth
Board
(2) Ensure the continuing relevance of
the National Telehealth Reference Center (NTRC) in terms of development,
implementation, and quality assurance of related health programs
(3) Coordinate with the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST)
SECTION
8. National
Telehealth
Board
–
To
ensure the implementation of this Act and to serve as the executive body of the
National Telehealth
System, the National Telehealth
Board shall be created and made an integral part of the Office of the Secretary
of the DOH.
The
Board shall be composed of twelve members and shall be co-chaired by the DOH
and the DOST Secretaries. Other members of the Board shall be as follows:
(1) the Executive Director of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), as vice-chair;
(2) the Executive Director of the
National Telehealth
Reference Center, as an ex-officio member;
(3) an Undersecretary of the Department
of Interior and Local Government;
(4) a representative of the League of
Municipalities in the Philippines;
(5) a representative of the League of
Provinces in the Philippines;
(6)a representative of the Philippine
Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC);
(7) a representative of the Association
of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines (AMHOP);
(8) a representative of any accredited
medical organization; and
(9) two community representatives of
underserved areas, as recommended by the NTRC
Evaluation and Suggestion:
The board is not well represented by stakeholders.
Considering that the private sector
holds the key to
the advancement of health informatics in the Philippines. Though technology is
at hand, infrastructure require so much investment to make systems work in our
areas considering that we are typhoon-prone and with geographically isolated
islands. Governance and leadership to spearhead and sustain these changes are
also issues.
References
Telehealth Bill
https://one.telehealth.ph/beta/2012/06/21/telehealth-bill-to-regulate-practice-in-ph/
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