Panuntunan sa pagpapatakbo ng mga diagnostic centers

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta - @Magtanong Kay Attorney | November 1, 2021

Dear Chief Acosta,

Nais magtayo ng negosyo ng tiyuhin ko na kareretiro pa lamang upang mayroon diumano siyang patuloy na pangsustento sa kanyang pamilya. Ang naisip niya ay magtayo ng diagnostic clinic o laboratoryo na kung saan kadalasan nagpapa-medical examination sapagkat wala pang ganito na malapit sa aming baryo. Kailangan po bang lisensiyado ang nagpapatakbo nito? Mayroon bang parusa kung sakaling hindi ordinaryong tao at hindi lisensiyado ang magpapatakbo nito? – Lottie

Dear Lottie,

Mayroon tayong batas, ang Republic Act (R. A.) No. 4688, o mas kilala bilang “The Clinical Laboratory Law,” na nagreregula ng operasyon at pagpapatakbo ng mga clinical laboratories tulad ng mga diagnostic centers. Ayon sa nasabing batas, kailangan rehistrado at taunang mayroong lisensiya ang sinumang magpapatakbo ng mga naturang klinika:

“Section 1. Any person, firm or corporation, operating and maintaining a clinical laboratory in which body fluids, tissues, secretions, excretions and radioactivity from beings or animals are analyzed for the determination of the presence of pathologic organisms, processes and/or conditions in the persons or animals from which they were obtained, shall register and secure a license annually at the office of the Secretary of Health: Provided, That government hospital laboratories doing routine or minimum laboratory examinations shall be exempt from the provisions of this section if their services are extensions of government regional or central laboratories.”

Maliban dito, pinag-uutos din ng batas na dapat lisensiyadong physician ang magpapatakbo sa mga ganitong uri ng klinika. Malinaw na nakasaad sa Seksiyon 2 ng R. A. No. 4688 ang sumusunod:

“Section 2. It shall be unlawful for any person to be professionally in-charge of a registered clinical laboratory unless he is a licensed physician duly qualified in laboratory medicine and authorized by the Secretary of Health, such authorization to be renewed annually.

No license shall be granted or renewed by the Secretary of Health for the operation and maintenance of a clinical laboratory unless such laboratory is under the administration, direction and supervision of an authorized physician, as provided for in the preceding paragraph.”

Ang sinumang lumabag sa mga nabanggit na legal na panuntunan ay maaaring maparusahan ng pagkakakulong at/o fine, sang-ayon sa Seksiyon 4 ng nasabing batas:

“Section 4. Any person, firm or corporation who violates any provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations issued thereunder by the Secretary of Health shall be punished with imprisonment for not less than one month but not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than one thousand pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.”

Ayon din sa ating Korte Suprema, maaaring pagbayarin ng danyos sa injured party ang sinumang mapatunayang lumabag:

“In fine, violation of a statutory duty is negligence. Where the law imposes upon a person the duty to do something, his omission or non-performance will render him liable to whoever may be injured thereby.” (Garcia, Jr. vs. Salvador, G.R. No. 168512, March 20, 2007;

Ponente: Honorable former Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago)

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang inyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa impormasyon na inyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng inyong salaysay.

Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.