Faced with an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, innovative solutions for the delivery of healthcare services through minimal personal contact has become vital for preventing the spread of the virus in the Philippines.

Best practices from South Korea have included “telemedicine” as a viable solution that allows doctors to diagnose, monitor the status, and write prescriptions for self-quarantined patients with mild symptoms through video calls. Service providers, government regulators and various civil society organizations in the Philippines have likewise pushed for the adoption of telemedicine as a response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Status of Telemedicine Legal Framework

While telemedicine is not novel in the Philippines with a number of established companies already offering telemedicine services prior to the COVID-19 crisis, it is an industry that is still at its infancy stage.

Despite the brief mention of “telemedicine” and “telehealth” in two Philippine laws, generally referring to remote clinical consultations to physicians, telemedicine has not been specifically defined by Philippine law. And while it does not appear likely for a law on telemedicine to be passed in the immediate future, the COVID-19 crisis has brought to the fore the beneficiality of legislating a regulatory framework for telemedicine.

In the House of Representatives, there are currently four (4) House Bills filed by representatives Victor Yap, Angelina Tan, Ron Salo, and Yul Servo Nieto which seek to define and regulate telemedicine in the Philippines. There is no counterpart bill pending in the Philippine Senate, with the last similar bill filed in 2017 by former senator Joseph Victor Ejercito.

In these bills, “telemedicine” is commonly defined to refer to “the use of telecommunication technology to provide healthcare services from a distance which focuses more on the preventive and curative treatment aspect.” On the other hand, “telehealth” refers to the delivery of health-related services and information via telecommunication technology which encompasses preventive, promotive, curative and palliative aspects.”

Apart from defining these terms, the proposed laws also commonly seek to introduce the following key measures that are not currently governed by existing laws and regulations:

  1. The formation of a centralized policy making body for eHealth initiatives;
  2. The introduction of appropriate standards for providing telehealth and telemedicine services;
  3. Provisions for the appropriate infrastructure and a national health database and data warehouse; and
  4. The accreditation of eHealth Centers and eHealth Practitioners.

In the absence of a law specifically regulating telemedicine, various healthcare service providers and groups have been free to offer telemedicine services to the public without need of securing further regulatory approvals, apart from the need to engage a duly licensed physician. Nevertheless, there are existing laws which have a significant impact on telemedicine providers, such as the Medical Act of 1959 and the Data Privacy Act of 2012, among others.

Necessarily, engaging in telehealth or telemedicine will require medical professionals and service providers to process the medical information patients. This type of information is considered as “sensitive personal information” under the Data Privacy Act. Hence, telemedicine service providers are required to ensure compliance with regulations under the Data Privacy Act which include the need to:

  1. Craft and develop protocols and systems to (1) secure the patient’s consent to the processing of the patient’s information and (2) inform the patient of their data privacy rights,  the specific purpose for the processing of their information, and their options to withhold and revoke consent;
  2. Develop guidelines and clear limitations for the collection, processing, transmittal, storage, and disposal/destruction of the patient’s medical data and personal information;
  3. Adopt safeguards for the protection of personal data processed and ensure the network security of the telemedicine service provider; and
  4. Register the telemedicine service provider’s data processing systems with the National Privacy Commission.

Application of Telemedicine in the Current Health Crisis

  1. COVID-19 Telemedicine Centers

A number of local government units, hospitals, medical schools, doctors’ associations, non-governmental organizations and other volunteer groups have recently launched hotlines and online platforms, which allow users to initially consult with doctors regarding their symptoms from the comfort of their own home before seeking a follow-up or hospital consultation or provide assistance by answering queries related to COVID-19.

Further, it has also been reported that the Department of Health (“DOH”) is also finalizing guidelines that will further promote the application of teleconsultation, having partnered with KonsultaMD and Medifi, private entities which have offered free telemedicine services.

        2. Electronic Prescriptions (“e-Prescriptions”)

Apart from promoting telemedicine, government regulators have also promoted the application of e-Prescriptions. On 17 March 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), an agency of the DOH, issued FDA Circular No. 2020-007 which provides guidelines for the issuance of e-Prescriptions.

Under these guidelines, a medical prescription captured as a photo, or created as a pdf, jpeg, or other photo file format, sent through email or messaging application is deemed equivalent to a written prescription.

To be valid, an e-prescription is required to contain:

  1. The name of the individual to whom the medicines or drugs are prescribed;
  2. The name of the medicines and/or drugs prescribed;
  3. The dosage and all other pertinent matters similarly contained in a written prescription;
  4. The digital signature, name, and the professional tax receipt (if applicable) of the licensed physician who issued the prescription.

All such e-Prescriptions shall be recognized as valid and effective by all drugstores and pharmacies, which are required to dispense drugs as prescribed by the e-Prescription. Further, the presence of an individual vulnerable to COVID-19 is not required before the needed drugs shall be dispensed to a person duly authorized to purchase the said drugs.

In addition, separate e-Prescriptions should be issued for all anti-biotic, anti-infectives and/or anti-viral preparations which shall be valid only for one (1) week after its issuance.

It is hoped that through the innovative application of telemedicine, the Philippine healthcare system will be better equipped to contain COVID-19. Beyond this crisis, it will be to the collective benefit of healthcare professionals and the general public for the legislature to enact a regulatory framework to ensure that proper safeguards are in place to protect both doctor and patient in telemedicine, and ultimately, to promote the application of telemedicine as a tool in improving accessibility to affordable quality health care for every Filipino.