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MANILA – Solid North Party-list Rep. Ching Bernos has filed a bill at the House of Representatives seeking to establish a regulatory framework for the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in healthcare.
House Bill 3115, or the Act Establishing the Philippine Electronic Health or eHealth System, aims to provide the public with effective telehealth services by establishing, institutionalizing, and regulating a coherent, coordinated, and collaborative National eHealth System, guided by a national policy and strategic network.
“The eHealth System and Services bill is a necessary measure that will help provide a safe, cost-effective, secure, and accessible way for the Filipino people to look after their health needs,” Bernos said in a statement.
The proposed measure calls for the development and implementation of a health sector enterprise architecture to provide guidance to 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.
The measure also mandates that the design, development, and implementation of eHealth services and applications shall focus on the automation and interoperability of the various mandatory e-health business processes and data services, as laid out in the health sector enterprise architecture.
“Telehealth can bridge the gap between patients and medical professionals, especially in remote areas where hospitals and specialists are scarce,” Bernos said.
“With telehealth, consultations, diagnostics, and follow-ups can be done without the need for long and costly travel. This not only saves time and money, but also ensures that healthcare reaches communities that need it most.”
She said the eHealth System and Services bill will also help streamline and address issues on provision, access, availability, accountability, patient rights, electronic health data, security, and information exchange, among others.
Bernos said she hopes that the eHealth Systems bill would finally be enacted during the 20th Congress.
The eHealth System and Services bill had passed third and final reading in the House in the 19th Congress, but its counterpart measure in the Senate failed to hurdle committee deliberations.
“There is a clamor for a more modern system that eases the already challenging pursuit of health services in our country. This bill recognizes the demand among our people for the health system to keep up with the times, that is why I sincerely hope that this proposal will finally be turned into law.”
— Jose Cielito Reganit (PNA)
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Credit belongs to: www.pna.gov.ph
