PATIENT GRIEVANCES BILL PUSHED

Due to incessant reports of medical malpractice in the country, Senator Bong Revilla has filed a bill that seeks to create a Grievance Board in every public and private hospital nationwide.

The senator lamented that there is still no exclusive law in the country that would directly address treatment-related cases amid the regular reports of malpractices in various medical fields.

He cited Article 13, Section 11 of the Constitution stating that an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development may be adopted so as to make available basic health and social services available to everyone at affordable cost.

"We need to institutionalize an effective and fair grievance mechanism that will ensure the people's right to quality health care in all hospitals in the Philippines , be it private or public. A Grievance Board would be a non-adversarial venue to resolve a patient's complaint, relieving both parties from the long and costly process of litigation," Revilla said.

Under Revilla's Senate Bill No. 3357 or the Patients Grievances Bill, a Grievance Board shall be created in every public and private hospitals nationwide under the supervision of the Department of Health (DOH). It shall be composed of hospital officials, doctors, and representatives from the local health unit, and the consumer arbitration office in the place where the hospital is located.

The Board will investigate and recommend actions to arrive at a resolution of complaints related to the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of patients who sought the services of such health institution. Any decision of the Board will not deprive the patient the right to seek other remedies allowed under other existing laws.

"This mechanism is fair to patients. They would be allowed to seek other remedies. It is also fair to the medical practitioners because complainants shall not be allowed to recover twice for the same grievance," the lawmaker further explained.

The hospital shall promulgate its rules and regulations which must clearly state the procedures and methods of filing and addressing grievances. The rules of procedure shall require the approval of the DOH before implementation. "The procedure, which includes the rules on taking appeal, must be broad enough to apply to the handling of various types of complaints and must effectively facilitate the settlement of grievances at the soonest possible time. This guarantees the expeditious resolution of complaints," Revilla ended.