CHAPTER VI
HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH
SEC. 23. National Health Human Resource Master Plan. - The DOH, together with stakeholders, shall ensure the formulation and implementation of a National Health Human Resource Master Plan that will provide policies and strategies for the appropriate generation, recruitment, retraining, regulation, retention and re-assessment of health workforce based on population health needs.
To ensure continuity in the provision of the health programs and services, all health professionals and health care workers shall be guaranteed permanent, employment and competetive salaries.
SEC. 24. National Health Workforce Support System. - A national health workforce (NHW) support system shall be created to support local public health systems in addressing their human resource needs: Provided, That deployment to Geographical Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) shall be prioritized.
SEC. 25. Scholarship and Training Program. - (a) The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the DOH shall develop and plan the expansion of existing and new allied and health-related degree and training programs including those for community-based health care workers and regulate the number of enrollees in each program based on the health needs of the population especially those in underserved areas.
(b) The CHED and the DOH shall expand scholarship grants for allied and health-related undergraduates and graduate programs: Provided, That scholarships shall be based on the needed cadre of national and local health managers and health professionals: Provided, further, That scholarships for bona fide residents of unserved or underserved areas or members of indigenous peoples shall be given priority.
(c) The PRC and the DOH, in coordination with duly-registered medical and allied health professional societies, shall set up a registry of medical and allied health professionals, indicating, among others, their current number of practititioners and location of practice.
(d) The CHED, PRC, and DOH, in coordination with duly-registered medical and allied professional societies, shall re-orient medical and allied medical professional education, and health professional certification and regulation towards producing health workers with competencies in the provision of primary care services.
SEC. 26. Return Service Agreement. - All graduates of allied and health-related courses who are recipients of government-funded scholarship programs shall be required to serve in priority areas in the public sector for at least three (3) full years, with compensation, and under the supervision of the DOH: Provided, That those who will serve for additional two (2) years shall be provided with additional incentives as determined by the DOH: Provided, further, That graduates of allied and health-related courses from state universities and colleges and private schools shall be encouraged to serve in these areas.
The DOH shall coordinate with the CHED and PRC for the effective implementation of this section including the establishment of guidelines for non-compliance.
CHAPTER VII
REGULATION
SEC. 27. Safety and Quality. - (a) PhilHealth shall established a rating system under an incentive scheme to acknowledge and reward health facilities that provide better service quality, efficiency and equity: Provided, That PhilHealth shall recognize third party accredition mechanisms and may use these as basis for granting incentives.
(b) The DOH shall institute a licensing and regulatory system for stand-alone health facilities, including those providing ambulatory and primary care services, and other modes of health service provision.
(c) The DOH shall set standards for clinical care through the development, appraisal, and use of clinical practice guidelines in cooperation with professional societies and the academe.
SEC. 28. Affordability. - (a) DOH-owned health care providers shall procure drugs and devices guided by price reference indices, following centrally negotiated prices, sell them following the prescribed maximum mark-ups, and submit to DOH a price list of all drugs and devices procured and sold by the health care provider.
(b) An independent price negotiation board, composed of representatives from the DOH, PhilHealth and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), among others, shall be constituted to negotiate prices on behalf of the DOH and PhilHealth, guided by certain parameters including new technology, innovator drugs, and sourced from a single supplier: Provided, That the negotiated price in the framework contract shall be applicable for all health care providers under DOH: Provided, further, That the price negotiation board shall adhere to the guidelines issued by the Government Procurement Policy Board.
(c) Health care providers and facilities shall be required to make readily accessible to the public and submit to DOH and PhilHealth, all pertinent relevant, and up-to-date information regarding the prices of health services, all goods and services being offered.
(d) Drug outlets shall be required at all times to carry the generic equivalent of all drugs in the Primary Care Formulary and shall be required to provide customers with a list of therapeutic equivalents and their corresponding prices when fulfilling prescriptions or in any transaction.
(e) The DOH, PhilHealth, HMOs, life and non-life private health insurance (PHIs) shall develop standard policies and plans that complement the Program's benefit schedule: Provided, That a coordination mechanism between PhilHealth, PHIs and HMOs shall be set up to ensure that no benefits shall be unnecessary dropped.
SEC. 29. Equity. (a) The DOH shall annually update its list of underserved areas, which shall be the basis for preferential licensing of health facilities and contracting of health services. The DOH shall develop the framework and guidelines to determine the appropriate bed capacity and number of health care professionals of public health facilities.
(b) The government shall guarantee that the distribution of health services and benefits provided for in this Act shall be equitable by prioritizing GIDAs in the provision of assistance and support.
(c) All government hospitals are required to operate not less than ninety percent (90%) of their bed capacity as basic or ward accommodation: Provided, That specialty hospitals are required to operate not less than seventy percent (70%) of their bed capacity as basic or ward accommodation: Provided, further, That private hospitals are required to operate not less than ten percent (10%) of their bed capacity as basic or ward accommodation: Provided, finally, That all government hospitals, specialty hospitals and private hospitals shall regulardly submit a report on the allotment or percentage of their bed capacity to basic or ward accommodation to DOH, which shall issue the necessary guidelines for the immediate implementation of this provision.
CHAPTER VIII
GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
SEC. 30. Health Promotion. - The DOH, as the overall steward for health care, shalll strengthen national efforts in providing a comprehensive and coordinated approach to health development with emphasis on scaling up health promotion and preventive care.
The DOH shall transform its existing Health, Promotion and Communication Service into a full-fledged Bureau, to be named as the Health Promotion Bureau, to improve health literacy and mainstream health promotion and protection.
The Health Promotion Bureau shall formulate a framework stretegy for health promotion which shall serve as the basis for DOH programs in increasing health literacy with focus on reducing non-communicable diseased, implement population-wide health promotion programs and activities across social determinants of health, exerciese plicy coordination across government instrumentalities to ensure the attainment of the framework strategy and its programs, and promote and provide technical support to local research and development programs and projects: Provided, That within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act, the cost of implementing health promotion programs shall be at least one percent (1%) of the DOH's total budget appropriations.
The schools under the supervision of the Department of Education (DepEd) are hereby designated as healthy settings for the purpose of this Act. The DepEd, in coordination with DOH, shall formulate programs and modules on health literacy and rights be integrated into the existing school currricula to intensify the fight against the spread of communicable diseases and increase in prevalence of non-communicable diseases through, among others, the effective promotion of healthy lifestyle, physical activity, proper nutrition, and prevention of smoking and alcohol consumption among students. The program shall likewise acquaint the students on their entitlements, privileges and responsibilities under this Act.
The DOH and DepEd shall submit annual reports on the health promotion and literacy programs they have respectively implemented, including an assessment of the impact thereof, to the President of the Philippines, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Furthermore, the LGUs are also directed to enact stricter ordinances that strengthen and broaden existing health policies, the laws to the contrary notwithstanding, and implement effective programs that promote health literary and healthy lifestyle among their constituencies to advance population health and individual well-being, reduce the prevalenc of non-communicable diseased and their risk factors, particularly tobacco and alcohol use, lower the incidence of new infectious diseases, address mental health issues and improve health indicators. An annual report on the policies adopted and programs undertaken and an assessment of the impact thereof shall be submitted by the LGUs to the DILG.
SEC. 31. Evidence-Informed Sectoral Policy and Planning for UHC. - (a) All public and private, national and local health-related entitiees shall be required to submit health and health-related data to PhilHealth including, among others, administrative, public health, medical, pharmaceutical and health financing data: Provided, That PhilHealth shall furnish the DOH a copy of the health data: Provided, further, That these shall be used for the purpose of generating information to guide research and policy-making: Provided, finally, That the DOH shall strengthen its research capability by supporting health systems development and reform initiatives through policy and systems research, and shall support the growth of research consortia in line with the vision of the Philippine National Health Research System.
(b) The DOH and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) shall develop a cadre of policy systems researchers, technical experts and managers by providing training grants in globally-benchmarked institutions: Provided, That grantees shall be required to serve for at least three (3) full years, under supervision and with compensation, in DOH, PhilHealth and other relevant government agencies: Provided, further, That those who will serve for additional two (2) years, shall be provided with additional incentives as determined by the agency concerned.
(c) All health, nutrition and demographic-related administrative and survey data generated using public funds shall be considered public records and be made accessible to the public unless otherwise prohibited by law: Provided, That any person who requests a copy of such public records may be required to pay the actual costs of reproduction and copying of the requested public records.
(d) Participatory action researches on cost-effective, high-impact interventions for health promotion and social mobilization shall form part of the national health research agenda of the Philippine National Health Research System which shall also be mandated to provide adequate funding support for the conduct of these researches.
SEC. 31. Evidence-Informed Sectoral Policy and Planning for UHC. - (a) All public and private, national and local health-related entitiees shall be required to submit health and health-related data to PhilHealth including, among others, administrative, public health, medical, pharmaceutical and health financing data: Provided, That PhilHealth shall furnish the DOH a copy of the health data: Provided, further, That these shall be used for the purpose of generating information to guide research and policy-making: Provided, finally, That the DOH shall strengthen its research capability by supporting health systems development and reform initiatives through policy and systems research, and shall support the growth of research consortia in line with the vision of the Philippine National Health Research System.
(b) The DOH and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) shall develop a cadre of policy systems researchers, technical experts and managers by providing training grants in globally-benchmarked institutions: Provided, That grantees shall be required to serve for at least three (3) full years, under supervision and with compensation, in DOH, PhilHealth and other relevant government agencies: Provided, further, That those who will serve for additional two (2) years, shall be provided with additional incentives as determined by the agency concerned.
(c) All health, nutrition and demographic-related administrative and survey data generated using public funds shall be considered public records and be made accessible to the public unless otherwise prohibited by law: Provided, That any person who requests a copy of such public records may be required to pay the actual costs of reproduction and copying of the requested public records.
(d) Participatory action researches on cost-effective, high-impact interventions for health promotion and social mobilization shall form part of the national health research agenda of the Philippine National Health Research System which shall also be mandated to provide adequate funding support for the conduct of these researches.
[3] Universal Health Care Act [5]
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