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SEPT.

27, 2012

NR # 2875B

House approves on 3rd reading proposed Physicians Act of 2012


The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a proposal to regulate the education and licensure of physicians and the practice of medicine in the Philippines. By a unanimous 197 votes, the House approved House Bill 6538 which provides for the repeal of Republic Act 2382, otherwise known as the Medical Act of 1959, as amended. Principally authored by Rep. Janette Garin (1st District, Iloilo), the proposed Physicians Act of 2012 aims to enable the country meet the challenges of improving the quality of health care and the imperatives of global competitiveness in the field of medicine. The measure provides it is the declared policy that the State recognizes the vital role of physicians in the preservation, maintenance, safeguard, cure and enhancement of life, health, and general welfare of the citizenry. Hence, the physicians professional services shall be promoted as an indispensable component of the total health care system. The proposed act shall be governed by the following: Standardization, upgrading and regulation of the medical education, including internship training; Administration of the medical licensure examination, licensure and registration of the physicians; Supervision, control and regulation of the practice of medicine; Integration of the medical profession into one national organization; and, Promotion of competence, moral values and professional attitude of physicians through an integrated and accredited professional organization. It provides for the creation of the Council of Medical Education whose functions include among others to: Determine the requirements for admission into a recognized college of medicine; Determine the minimum requirements for physical facilities of colleges of medicine; Determine the minimum number and the standard qualifications of teaching personnel including student-teacher ratio; Determine the minimum required curriculum including internship leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine; and, Recommend to the Commission on Higher Education the closure or suspension of a colleges Doctor of Medicine degree program for the poor performance of the graduates over a given period of time based on statistical data. It also provides the minimum required course leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine and the admission requirements to a medical college. Another salient provision of the bill is the creation of the Professional Regulatory

Board of Medicine whose powers and functions include the following, among others: Supervise, control and regulate the practice of medicine in the country; Determine and evaluate qualifications of the applicants for registration with physician licensure examinations and for special permits; Prepare the questions in physicians licensure examinations in accordance with recognized principles of evaluation; Monitor the performance of medical schools and their compliance with the rules and regulations of the CHED Technical Committee on Medical Education; Promulgate rules and regulations including a Code of Ethics for Physicians, administrative policies, orders and issuances; and, Coordinate with the CHED Technical Committee on Medical Education and the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges in prescribing, amending or revising the courses in a medical program. The measure also provides for the prerequisites to the practice of medicine, qualifications of applicants for the physician licensure examination, scope of the physician licensure examination, rating in the examination, and the regulation of the practice of the medical profession. The bill is co-authored by Reps. Walden Bello (Party-list, Akbayan), Mar-Len Abigail Binay (2nd District, Makati City), Alfredo Maranon lll (2nd District, Negros Occidental), Anthony Rolando Golez (Lone District, Bacolod City), Andres Salvacion, Jr. (3rd District, Leyte), Joseph Emilio Abaya (1st District, Cavite), Daryl Grace Abayon (Party-list Aangat Tayo), the late Salvador Escudero lll (1st District, Sorsogon), Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City), Juan Edgardo Angara (Lone District, Aurora), Rafael Mariano (Party-list, Anakpawis), Philip Pichay (1st District, Surigao del Sur), Carlos Padilla (Lone District, Nueva Vizcaya), Mary Mitzi Cajayon (2nd District, Caloocan City) and Lani Mercado-Revilla (2nd District, Cavite).(30) rbb

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