Driving Question: How can telehealth support healthcare delivery in the Philippines? Assignment: Pick two sections in the proposed bill. Evaluate and suggest revisions if any.

1. The Telehealth Bill of 2012
By: Jonathan G. Fabia, RN
HI 201
Monday Class, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

2. • Driving Question:
How can telehealth support healthcare
delivery in the Philippines?
• Assignment:
Pick two sections in the proposed bill.
Evaluate and suggest revisions if any.

3. Background
• Also known as House Bill 6336, the bill will
strengthen Department of Health (DOH)
Secretary Enrique Ona’s commitment to provide
telehealth services to at least 606 poorest
municipalities in the Philippines.
• It will also help in aligning plans “for attaining
efficiency by using ICTs in all aspects of health
care”, one of health policy directions described in
Ona’s Universal Health Care agenda.
Source:
https://one.telehealth.ph/beta/2012/06/21/telehealth-bill-to-regulate-practice-in-ph/

4. Background
• Authors and advocates
Cong. Joseph Emilio Abaya
National Telehealth Center (NTHC)
NTSP TWG (especially BLHD, IMS, NEC, HPDPB,
PhilHealth, NCPAM, HHRDB) drafted the AO as
basis for the House Bill

5. Background
• NTHC’s Four pillars
e- Medicine
e- Records
e- Learning
e- policy
Source:http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/im
gLib/20090831_20090701HealthCarePolicy.jpg

6. History
• In 2009, the National Telehealth Service Act
was initiated.
Supports NTHC projects:
- Buddyworks (2010)
- National Telehealth Service Program (2011)
Telemedicine
• It was changed to the Telehealth Bill of 2012
(June 6, 2012)

7. Key Features
• Telehealth Act to serve as a policy framework
• Creation of National Telehealth System
• Creation of a National Telehealth Board
• Creation of a National Telehealth Reference
• Center, as part of the NIH National Institutes
• of Health
• Establish regional Telehealth Centers

8. The Bill
Pick two sections in the proposed bill.
Evaluate and suggest revisions if any.
Sections chosen:
• Section 8. The National Telehealth Board
• Section 9. The National Telehealth Reference Center

9. The National Telehealth Board
Main Functions:
• (1) establish telehealth guidelines and regulations
pertinent to its practice and provision of service;
• (2) provide recommendations to the National
Telehealth System pertinent to telehealth-related
human resource development and
compensation, and other sustainability plans;
• (3) recommend corrective measures and
resolutions on issues related to telehealth as
deemed necessary;

10. • (4) set and impose the appropriate penalties;
• (5) conduct an annual review of reports on
quality assurance by the National Telehealth
Reference Center;
• (6) set policy and program recommendations
for the further development of telehealth;
• (7) submit yearly assessments to the DOH; and
• (8) meet at least twice a year.

11. The National Telehealth Board
• Composition
• The Board shall be composed of 12 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;

12. The National Telehealth Board
(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.

13. The National Telehealth Reference
Center
Main functions:
• Executive arm of the NTB
• Develop accreditation mechanisms for telehealth
and telemedicine systems
• maintaining national databases and case registries
• training and assistance, and continuing education for
all telehealth practitioners throughout the country.
• It shall act serve as the secretariat of the National
Telehealth Board.

14. Telehealth Centers
• Accredited by NTRC
• Should have these minimum requirements
(i.) be equipped with the needed ICT applications
suitable for telehealth in the country;
(ii.) be supervised and staffed by trained personnel
who have been duly qualified by the NTRC; and
(iii.) submit to periodic unannounced inspection by
NTRC in order to evaluate and ensure quality
Telehealth Center performance.

15. To summarize
• NTB- sets policies, regulating body, acts like an
“ethics regulatory board”
• NTRC- Executive arm, accredits Telehealth
Centers, trainers and educators, secretariat,
database managers
• Telehealth Centers- local or regional hubs

16. National
Telehealth System The System
National
Telehealth Board
National
Telehealth
Reference Center
Telehealth Centers
Policy making
Regulatory body
Executive arm
Accreditors
Trainers and Educators
Secretariat,
Local/ Regional Hubs

17. Conflicts
• The NTB is somewhat similar to PHIE TWG
• Domain specialists are not mentioned in the board
• Regulatory and registration of Health devices
including Telemedicine are under FDA-BHDT
• No registration of Telehealth applications
mentioned- should serve as filter
• PHIE plans to establish National Registry and
Database under the DOH
• Penalties and affiliated laws not stipulated
• No research arm

18. Suggestions
• Integrate the PHIE inside the Bill
 Aside from the board, plans of data warehousing and
maintenance should be cleared
• Increase possible Board members
 Critical stakeholders are the ones talking to each other
AMHOP- OK
Rep of any medical organization- One will lead with all
possible domain to be sub-members
 Include the National Telecommunications Commision

19. Suggestions
• The National Health System should have a
separate regulatory body and not NTRC
Functions:
Ensure proper registration of telehealth apps
Ensure regulations are properly executed
Police powers like the FDA
Reviews and adopts existing standards and
protocols recommended by NTB

20. Suggestions
• Insert the cybercrime law and data privacy act
as a basis of penalties for the bill
• Measures should be considered especially on
privacy and confidentiality area
• Add research responsibility to NTRC or create
a research arm of the system under the NIH