Law Summary
Key Definitions
- 'Hospital' includes any place primarily engaged in diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with illness, injury, or medical conditions and includes institutions with beds for 24-hour or longer patient use.
- 'Government hospital' is one operated wholly or partly by government entities.
- 'Private hospital' is one privately owned and funded.
- 'Clinic' refers to outpatient facilities; those with 6 or more beds are classified as hospitals.
- 'Licensee' refers to holders of hospital operation licenses.
Construction Permits
- No hospital may be constructed without license agency approval of plans and issuance of a construction permit.
Registration and Licensing Requirement
- Hospitals must register and secure a license before operation or public opening.
Licensing Agency and Staffing
- The Bureau of Medical Services, under the Secretary of Health, acts as the licensing agency.
- The Bureau is reorganized to include architects, hospital administrators, sanitary engineers, and other relevant personnel.
Licensing Agency Powers and Duties
- Conduct ocular surveys of existing hospitals to assess operational fitness.
- Prescribe standard construction plans.
- Approve construction plans and issue construction permits.
- Maintain registers of licensed hospitals including key data such as ownership, bed capacity, and administrators.
- Grant or revoke licenses.
- Perform periodic inspections and enforce compliance.
- Publish annual lists of approved hospitals.
- Submit yearly reports to government officials including recommendations for hospital needs.
Application for Construction Permit Procedure
- Applicants submit plans and details including hospital name, ownership, location, and bed capacity to the Bureau of Medical Services.
Minimum Standards of Hospital Construction
- Must provide adequate bed space and essential facilities: laboratory, operating room, sterilization workrooms, radiology, pharmacy, outpatient departments, delivery, isolation, morgue, and sufficient staff quarters and toilets.
- Wards must segregate sexes and classify patients according to case type.
Registration and Licensing Application
- Filed with the Bureau on prescribed forms.
- Issuance depends on meeting minimum construction standards and other regulatory requirements.
Inspection and License Issuance
- Licenses and construction permits issued only after ocular inspection and certification of compliance.
- Annual license renewal is required upon fee payment.
Grounds and Process for License Revocation
- License may be revoked or suspended for repeated violations of the Act, related laws, or failure to correct deficiencies.
Administrative Hearing for License Issues
- Denial, suspension, or revocation of a license entitles the affected party to an administrative hearing conducted by the Secretary of Health and undersecretaries.
- Judicial remedies remain available.
Separate Licenses for Separate Premises
- Separate licenses required for hospitals or branches in distinct premises.
- Separate buildings within the same compound require only permits for construction or alteration.
Non-Transferability of Licenses
- Hospital operation licenses are non-transferable.
- The licensing agency must be notified of any ownership, name, or location changes with new licenses required for relocations.
Rule-making Authority
- The Bureau of Medical Services shall promulgate implementing rules and regulations, subject to the Secretary of Health's approval.
Hospital Classification System
- Hospitals classified by: general or special type, service capabilities, size/bed capacity, and whether training hospitals.
Fees
- Five pesos for construction permit.
- Five pesos registration fee.
- Ten pesos annual license fee.
- Government hospitals exempted from fees.
- Fees collected constitute a revolving fund for the licensing agency.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
- Operating a hospital without a license or violating the Act constitutes a misdemeanor.
- Fines: up to 500 pesos for first offense, up to 1,000 pesos for subsequent offenses.
- Each day of continued operation post-conviction counts as a separate offense.
Repeal of Inconsistent Laws
- Any laws or parts inconsistent with the Act are repealed.
Effectivity
- The Act takes effect upon approval on June 19, 1965.