Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reiterated Monday that hospitals are not allowed to detain or refer patients to lending companies due to unpaid dues.
“Bawal po mag-detain ng pasyente ang mga ospital, nasa batas po iyan. Ang guidelines po, they (patients) can write a promissory note so they can have it paid on installment,” Vergeire said in an online briefing.
(Hospitals are not allowed to detain patients, that is in the law. The guidelines state patients can write a promissory note so they can have it paid on installment.)
“Hindi po puwede i-detain ang pasyente at hindi rin po hospital practice ang directing them to lending facilities,” she added.
(Patients cannot be detained. It is not a hospital practice to direct them to lending facilities.)
Vergeire said hospitals could ask for the patient’s IDs to track them after they were released from the hospital despite unsettled bills.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bernadett Velasco, project manager of One Hospital Command (OHC), said in the same forum that they referred at least 2,200 patients to hospital and quarantine facilities in need of COVID-19 and medical attention.
“Kung urgent po ang needed, nafa-facilitate po namin through our network, para madala po agad sa ospital. Within the day po, naire-rerefer po namin agad sa ospital or quarantine facility,” Velasco said.
Also read: Philippines has flattened COVID-19 curve – UP expert
Hospitals not allowed to detain patients with unpaid dues
(If urgent is needed, we can facilitate through our network so that they can be taken to the hospital immediately. Within the day, we can refer the patient immediately to the hospital or quarantine facility.)
The government launched the One Hospital Command last month to improve the referral system and interoperability of public and private health care facilities serving COVID-19 patients in the Philippines.
The One Hospital Command Center is located at the MMDA Gymnasium in Makati City, but it also uses an offsite call center for efficient processing of transactions.
The public may reach the command center through the Pure Force Citizens mobile app, QR codes, and hotlines 0919-977-3333, 0915-777-7777, or (02) 886-505-00.