QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 11332)
RA 11332 is known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.” It provides policies and procedures on surveillance and response to notifiable diseases, epidemics, and health events of public health concern, and appropriates funds therefor.
The State aims to protect and promote the right to health through efficient disease surveillance and an effective response system against public health threats, epidemics, health events, including compliance with the WHO 2005 International Health Regulations, recognizing these threats as matters of public health and national security.
It is the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of outcome-specific data for planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice, including functional capacity for data analysis and timely dissemination for effective prevention and control.
A notifiable disease is one that, by legal requirements, must be reported to public health authorities.
These refer to either a public health emergency or a public health threat due to biological, chemical, radio-nuclear, and environmental agents.
It includes specified DOH offices/bureaus (e.g., Epidemiology Bureau, Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, Bureau of Quarantine and International Health Surveillance, Health Emergency Management Bureau, FDA, government hospitals, RTI/Trop. Medicine and other national reference labs, DOH regional offices), the local health office, and any person directly authorized to act on behalf of the DOH or local health office.
The Secretary of Health may declare epidemics of national and/or international concern except when it threatens national security; in that case, the President declares a State of Public Health Emergency.
They may declare an outbreak only within their respective localities, and the declaration must be supported by sufficient scientific evidence based on disease surveillance/data, epidemiologic investigation, environmental investigation, and laboratory investigation.
They capture and verify reported notifiable diseases/health events, provide timely accurate epidemiologic information, conduct disease surveillance and response activities, coordinate needed response, and facilitate capacity building. ESUs must also have trained human resources and adequate resources (e.g., PPE, logistics, lab supplies, health insurance).
Public and private physicians, allied medical personnel, professional societies, hospitals, clinics, health facilities, laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and private companies, institutions, workplaces, schools, prisons, ports, airports, establishments, communities, other government agencies, and NGOs are required to accurately and immediately report notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern.
Data collection/analysis/dissemination from the official surveillance systems can only be done by authorized DOH and local counterparts, and may only be used for public health purposes. The law states this should be exempted from the Data Privacy Act provision on accessibility of data.
They may enforce establishment of necessary information systems; mandatory reporting; conduct investigations (case investigation, patient interviews, record review, contact tracing, specimen collection/storage/transport/testing, risk assessments, lab investigation, population/environmental investigations); rapid containment including quarantine/isolation; prevention and control measures; product recall; and response activities for events of public health concern.
Unauthorized disclosure of confidential patient information; tampering of records or providing misinformation; non-operation of disease surveillance/response systems; non-cooperation of persons/entities required to report/respond; and non-cooperation of persons/entities identified as having the notifiable disease or affected by the health event.
Disclosure is not considered a violation if made to comply with a legal order issued by a court of law with competent jurisdiction.
Violators may be fined P20,000 to P50,000 and/or imprisoned from 1 month to 6 months, at the court’s discretion. The PRC may suspend or revoke medical professionals’ licenses. The Civil Service Commission may suspend/revoke civil service eligibility of public servants. If committed by a health facility or juridical entity, the responsible officer may be held liable and the business permit/license to operate may be cancelled.
The chief executive officer/president/general manager or other officer in charge is held liable; additionally, the business permit and license to operate may be cancelled.