Mother-son House tandem files bill seeking to encode personal health info.
Survival in a health or medical emergency depends much on the speed of provision medical treatment well as the accuracy of diagnosis.
Thus, instant medical profiling, cross-referencing, real-time data verification/authentication of personal data would be critical lifelines to the patient.
Personal experiences with life-threatening conditions must have prodded two lawmakers –a mother-and-son-team actually – to put forward a legislative proposed to make available electronic medical records of all patients of hospitals and clinics to provide easy access to vital, life-saving information.
Rep. Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo (2nd District, Camarines Sur) and his mother, Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga) filed House Bill 2805 to save lives, time, money, and effort.
The former president has been in hospital detention for the treatment of a lingering illness requiring constant medical attention.
“Obtaining vital patient medical information, especially in emergency cases, can help avoid unnecessary loss of lives,” the Arroyos said.
The bill also seeks the establishment of the Electronic Medical Record Center to be placed under the Office of the Health Secretary.
Electronic medical records, as defined under the bill, refer to the “medical background and history of medical service provider’s patients and such other information to be designed and developed by the record center”.
Medical service providers, on the other hand, refer to “all medical practitioners, hospitals, clinics, centers and other similar institutions that provide medical care service and assistance” as defined under the measure.
The authors said the record center should serve as a hub of all databanks of medical records and other pertinent information significant to the patient’s medical history.
Under the proposal, the record center would generate specialized software to be distributed and used as the standard platform for the maintenance, updating, uploading and making available electronic medical records.
In order to assure the privacy of all medical records, electronic communications and transactions electronic medical records system are to the existing 128-bit encryption or higher form of Secure Socket Layer technology, which may be devised in the future.
The bill proposes the appropriation of P10 million for the initial operations of the Electronic Medical Records Center as an attached agency of the DoH and thereafter, such amount needed to implement this Act are to be included in the annual budget of the department.
– DFF, Medical Observer
