What is the Medical Malpractice Act or House Bill 4955?

Medical Malpractice Bill or House Bill 4955, authored by Representative Oscar Rodriguez of Second District, Pampanga, seeks to strengthen the right of a patient to quality medical care. It aims to impose criminal charges against physicians and health professionals who have committed errors in the diagnosis and treatment of their patients.

What is medical malpractice?

House Bill 4955 defines medical malpractice as, �any personal injury, including death, caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any medical practitioners.�

According to Donald J. Palmisano, M.D., J.D., Presiddent of US-Based Intrepid Resources/The Medical Risk Manager Company, which has done risk management and claims handling for physicians, clinics, and hospitals nationwide, malpractice occurs when there is an injury to the patient that can be proven that this injury is a direct result of substandard care given to the patient. In a nutshell, malpractice is a violated duty causing harm.

Who can be liable of medical malpractice according to this Act?

Medical practitioners, i.e. any physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist or paramedical or other supporting personnel (including medical and dental technicians, nursing assistants and therapists) can be liable of medical malpractice.

What are the possible causes of medical malpractice in the Philippines?

The commercialization of medical education that results in incompetent or negligent doctors may be one source of medical malpractice. Poor quality medical schools that produce sub-standard medical practitioners may also be a possible cause of malpractice.

Public hospital doctors mostly are overworked, overburdened, and underpaid so in order to raise their income, they would accept a lot of patients. This being the case, there is a tendency for the quality of healthcare to deteriorate and therefore increase the chance of malpractice.

Why should we support the Medical Malpractice Act?

According to the explanatory note of the Medical Malpractice Act, providing penalties for gross negligence,will filter out incompetent individuals in the medical field.. The passage of this law will also provide greater prestige to the medical profession. And most especially, the occurrence of injuries and needless deaths caused by gross ignorance and negligence will be prevented.

Why is the Medical Malpractice Act problematic?

The main problem of this act, according to Dr. Cecil Tady, President of Philippine College of Physicians, is the difficulty in proving malpractice in the court because there is no clear distinction between an honest mistake and negligence. Dr. Tady would like to believe that doctor always do their job in �good faith,� and some may make mistakes in their job. According to him, what distinguishes it from malpractice is when doctors commit something with conscious intent. Also, there is a difficulty in getting an expert witness who can testify whether or not the doctor respondent actually committed negligence.

What are the undesirable effects of the Medical Malpractice Act?

Dr. Bu Castro, secretary-general of the Philippine Medical Association, stated that criminalizing medical malpractice would only create tension of fear and mistrust between doctor and patient instead of fostering a relationship of mutual trust. He also doubts if people are ready for the anticipated increase in medical expenses due to the availing of insurances of the doctors.

Why should the Medical Malpractice Act be reformed?

Since medicine is an imperfect science, the doctors� prescriptions and the medical procedures they decide to follow cannot possibly always yield the desired result. It is unfair to criminalize a doctor who takes in an effort but failed to cure a patient. Physicians should be made liable for malpractice only when they have not followed correct procedures or have acted negligently.

The Cebu Medical Society pointed out that eradicating incompetent individuals in the medical field cannot be achieved by �making everyone liable� as the bill�s provisions indicate. Also they cited that the definition of such terms as �medical practitioner� or �personal injury� is too vague.

The bill should put emphasis not on the punishments of erring doctors but on the prevention of medical mistakes in the future.

What are the actions to be taken to assure quality medical care for Filipinos?

The government should allocate a bigger budget to healthcare. There should also be an active body that will monitor and assure the high quality of service of the medical field. Quality medical schools with cheap tuition fees should also be established that would emphasize public service rather than an income-generating profession.

Sources:

Health Alert, �Doctors reject �Medical Malpractice Bill��

Rodriguez, Oscar. House Bill 4955. www.congress.gov.ph

Ciriacruz, Michelle. �Flight, Fight, And Fakes.� Medical Observer. 2002

Editorial. �Let�s Have a Medical Malpractice Act.� The Manila Times. September 12, 2002. www.manilatimes.net.

�A Consolidated Position Paper of the University of the Philippines Manila on the Proposed Medical Malpractice Bill Submitted to the Senate and the House Committee on Health by UP Manila Chancellor Marita V.T. Reyes, M.D.� UP Forum Online. January 2003.

Garcia, Ralour. �Medical Malpractice Bill.� A Dose of My Own� October 17, 2002.

Dulce M. Arguelles and Darwin G. Amojelar. �Medical Malpractice: Is there such a thing in the Philippines?� The Manila Times. September 1, 2002. www.manilatimes.net.

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Mga Paraan sa Paggawa ng Siomai

Mga paraan sa paggawa ng siomai

1.) Ihanda ang mga sumusunod:

Pesos

1 kilong giniling na baboy                                                                                                                                      140.00

1 itlog                                                                                                                                                                  2.75

2 katamtamang-laking carrot (tinadtad)                                                                                                                                                             7.00

2 sibuyas (tinadtad)                                                                                                                                               3.00

1 buong bawang (tinadtad)                                                                                                                                      3.00

1 pack (100�s) katamtamang-laking molo wrapper (parisukat)                                                                                                                                                          40.00

2 kutsaritang asin

1 kutsaritang paminta (pino)

1 kutsarang mantika

toyo

kalamansi

__________________

Kabuuan:                                                                                                                                                 P 195.75 (+)

2.) Haluin mabuti sa isang mangkok ang isang kilong giniling na baboy, itlog, tinadtad na carrot, bawang at sibuyas. Idagdag ang asin at paminta. (Kung nais, maaari ring lagyan ng vetsin).

3.) Ibalot sa molo wrapper ang isang kutsara ng tinimplang giniling na baboy. Upang dumikit mabuti ang molo wrapper, dampian ang apat na dulo nito ng tubig.

4.) Ihanda ang steamer. Pahiran ito ng mantika. Ilagay ang mga siomai na magkakatabi ngunit hindi nagdidikit-dikit o magkakapatung-patong

5.) Iluto sa katamtamang apoy ng mga 45 minuto.

6.) Ihanda ang sawsawan. Paghaluin ang toyo at kalamansi. Kung nais, maaari ring lagyan ng chili powder o hot sauce.

7.) Ihain ng mainit kasama ang sawsawan.

Makagagawa ng 100 pirasong siomai.

Isang magandang pagkakakitaan ang pagtitinda ng siomai. Napakadali nitong gawin at abot-kaya lang ang mga ingredients. Maaari rin itong ihanda sa mga party, gawing ulam, o miryenda.