The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 6497, entitled, “An Act modernizing the regulation of Health Facilities and Services, and appropriating funds therefor, repealing for the purpose Republic Act No. 4226, otherwise known as the “Hospital Licensure Act”.
According to Rep. Victor Yap (2nd District, Tarlac), Republic Act No. 4226 or the Hospital Licensure Act that govern hospitals or health care facilities needs to be updated to reflect current trends in health.
“The 55- year-old law evidently needs to keep up with the emergence and development of new types of health care facilities, such as diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative centers, hence, the need to update the regulation of this industry”, he said.
Yap has filed a bill in the 18th Congress that seeks to expand and strengthen the regulation of health facilities in the country through the Bureau of Health Facilities and Services (BHFS) under the Department of Health (DOH) in order to ensure the safety and quality of the health care facilities.
“The measure will expand and strengthen the regulation capacities of the BHFS under the DOH to ensure the efficiency of health care facilities that have grown into newer types aside from the usual hospitals and clinics”, Yap explained.
Once passed into law, all health facilities and other related facilities, government or private, shall be registered and duly licensed by the BHFS before such are allowed to operate or be opened to the public.
“Other authors of the measure are Reps. Angelina Tan Quezon, 4th District), Henry Villarica (Bulacan, 4th Dt.), Geraldine Roman (Bataan, 1st Dt.), Michael Odylon Romero (Partylist 1-PACMAN).