BAGUIO CITY – The local legislature’s committee on health and sanitation chaired by councilor Elaine Sembrano has conducted a public hearing recently at city hall on a proposed ordinance declaring the rights of patients and prescribing penalties for violations of its provisions.
The measure’s proponent, councilor Edgar Avila, a member of her committee, was on hand to listen and take note of the opinions and suggestions of various sector representatives and answer their queries during the hearing.
In its explanatory note, the proposed “Baguio Patients Rights Act of 2016” aims to equalize the contractual relationship between a patient and his physician by stating the rights of patients necessary for the protection and promotion of their welfare.
The Act defines the duties and responsibilities of patients and those of health care providers and health care delivery organizations.
“The observance of these rights and responsibilities will enhance the physician-patient relationship and lead to more effective patient care and greater satisfaction for the patient, the physician and health care delivery institutions and entities,” the proposed measure states.
It points out that “adherence to patient’s rights is a vital factor for the fulfillment of medicine’s primary purpose – the prevention and treatment of diseases and the maintenance of patients’ health”.
All the pertinent suggestions given during the hearing will be incorporated in the proposed ordinance to be presented as a committee report to the city council for its approval on the amendments.
By Gaby Keith