Senate Bill for the New Medical Technology Law in the Philippines

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippines is globally recognized as a source of the world's medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, physical therapists and medical technologists. As early as 1960, the Philippines has been  educating medical technologists for the world health industry who are scientifically and technologically equipped to deliver the full spectrum of Medical Technology services required in modem health care.

Medical technologists from the Philippines are in high demand, thus their training education should be at par with the rest of the world's medical professionals. Philippine schools that offer Medical Technology courses have taken steps to adjust and amend their curriculum in response to advances and current trends in the medical world.

Republic Act 5527, otherwise known as The Medical Technology Act, was enacted in 1969. The law has become obsolete and no longer responds to the current practice of medical technology education.

This bill seeks to create an Board of Medical Technology under the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). The said Board will be headed by a qualified medical technologist. A Technical Panel in Medical Technology Education under the Commission on Higher Education shall also be created. Further, this bill seeks to introduce Continuing Medical Technology Education and Certification of Phlebotomists.

New Medical Technology Law in the Philippines

Medical Technology practice in the Philippines is covered under RA 5527. The law was approved in June 21, 1969. Since then, several revisions came which included RA 6132, Presidential Decrees number 498 and 1534. But due to the inability of some provisions of the act to respond to the current demands of medical technology education and practice, a senate bill was initiated by Senator Edgardo Angara to repeal the existing law.

The bill is entitled, " An Act Regulating and Modernizing the Practice of Medical Technology (Medical Laboratory Science) in the Philippines, Repealing, for this Purpose, Republic Act Nos. 5527 and 6132 and Presidential Decrees nos. 498 and 1534, and for Other Purposes". 

The bill seeks to improve the current status of all medical technologists in the Philippines in order to respond to the current trends in the medical world. Some of the main components of the bill are the following:

a. creation of the Board of Medical Technology under the PRC which will be composed by all medical technologists

b. creation of a Technical Panel in Medical Technology Education under the CHED

c. introduction of Continuing Medical Technology Education and Certification of Phlebotomists

d. broader definition of professionals considered to be in the practice of Medical Technology

e. establishment of a minimum base pay of registered medical technologists to an amount equivalent to the Salary Grade 15 under RA 6758.

Upon Approval, the bill will be called as the Medical Technology Act of 2011.

Table of Specifications - Hematology

	HEMATOLOGY
1	Blood Collection, anticoagulants and others	5%
2	Hematology tests and procedures	30%
	2.1. Routine	15%
	2.2. Automation	10%
	2.3. Special	5%
3	Hematopoeisis	40%
	3.1. Hematopoiesis in general	6%
	3.2. Erythropoiesis and RBC	12%
	3.3. Leukopopeisis and WBC	12%
	3.4. Thrombopoiesis and Platelets	10%
4	Coagulation (Principle, procedures, disease	20%
	4.1. Hemostasis Theories, Concepts and Mechanism	2%
	4.2. Coagulation procedures/ tests	8%
	4.3. Coagulation factors diseases/disorders and reference values	10%
5	Quality Assurance	5%
	TOTAL	100%

Table of Specifications - Clinical Chemistry

	Clinical Chemistry
1	Specimen Collection	5%
2	Instrumentation	5%
3	Reagent Preparation and Laboratory mathematics	5%
4	Quality Assurance	10%
5	Metabolic Blood Tests ( Principles, Procedures, Diseases/Disorders, Reference Values)	50%
	5.1. Water balance and electrolytes	8%
	5.2. NPN and other metabolic intermediaries and inorganic ions	6%
	5.3. carbohydrates	6%
	5.4. lipids and dysproteinemia	8%
	5.5. specific proteins	6%
	5.6. liver function tests	6%
	5.7. Clinical enzymology	8%
6	Endocrinology and Toxicology (Principles, Procedures , Disease and Reference	16%
	6.1. Endocrinology
	6.1.1. Thyroid Hormones	4%
	6.1.2. Sex Hormones	3%
	6.1.3. Other hormones (Pituitary and Adrenal)	3%
	6.2. Toxicology and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM)
	6.2.1. Substance of Abuse	2%
	6.2.2. Other poisons / toxic agnets ( Alcohol, carbond monoxide, mercury and lead and arsenic	2%
	6.2.3. TDM anticonvulsants and other drugs	2%
7	Blood gas analysis and other tests (principles, Procedures, diseases/disorders, reference values)	4%
8	Laboratory Safety	5%
	TOTAL	100%