REGISTERED nurses in the Philippines may now apply for accreditation with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) as providers of maternity care, newborn care and normal spontaneous delivery packages in accredited birthing homes.
Through Circular 2017-0023 (Revision 1) which was published last December 29, 2017, PhilHealth called on registered nurses to become professional heath care providers for the three (3) packages in PhilHealth-accredited birthing homes.
Once accredited, the nurses will receive payment from PhilHealth for services rendered to members who are availing themselves of the MCP, NCP or NSD packages in accredited birthing homes.
The policy also stated that the nurses who will qualify for accreditation may also provide services for family planning benefits being performed and reimbursed in primary care facilities such as intra-uterine device (IUD) insertion and Subdermal Contraceptive Implant Package, subject to additional requirements such as trainings.
The move to accredit nurses for the NHIP was in recognition of their vital roles in the local health care system. “They are among the promoters of primary health care, acting as frontliners in communities to deliver public health services,” said Dr. Celestina Ma. Jude P. De la Serna, Interim/Officer-in-charge, PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer.“By accrediting these nurses, we are assured that the quality of service that they provide to mothers and newborns in birthing homes are of the desired and expected quality,” she said.
To qualify for accreditation, nurses must be licensed practitioners, and must have completed training on Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care from Department of Health (DOH) institutions. The nurses must also have at least two (2) years’ experience in the labor or delivery room of at least a Level 1 hospital. “It is important for the applicants to also adhere to the standards of the Nursing profession and with the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses,” de la Serna added.
They must also comply with the provisions set forth in the Performance Commitment that they will sign with PhilHealth, and must be active PhilHealth members with qualifying premium contributions at the time of application. The nurses, however, may be affiliated with a maximum of three (3) PhilHealth-accredited non-hospital birthing facilities.
They will also be subjected to performance monitoring in accordance with the Health Care Providers – Performance Assessment System (HCP-PAS) articulated in PhilHealth Circular 2016-0026.
Interested nurses may file their applications with the Regional or Local Health Insurance Offices in their localities. They may also call PhilHealth’s 24/7 Action Center Hotline, (02) 441-7442 for the list of documentsneeded for the application. (END)
(Reference: Dr. Israel Francis A. Pargas, Head Executive Assistant and Concurrent OIC-Vice President for Corporate Affairs Group, Tel. 0917-8089399)
