DOCTORS and other health workers who rendered services to Taguig-Pateros District Hospital (TPDH) in the last seven years may now claim their professional fees (PFs) as the uncollected amount has ballooned to P62.062 million as of yearend 2020, according to the Commission on Audit.
In Taguig City’s audit released last July 13, the COA said there are unclaimed PFs at TPDH dating back to 2014.
Under RA 10606 or the National Health Insurance Act of 2013 that amended the 1995 version of the law, payment of professional services rendered by salaried public health providers are to be retained by the hospital. The PFs are supposed to be pooled together, then distributed among health care personnel.
The Department of Health’s Administrative Order No. 2016-033 issued June 30, 2016 provides that all doctors and non-physician workers are entitled to a share of the pooled funds regardless of employment status.
On March 26, 2018, the city government approved Ordinance No. 11which provides a 50/50 sharing of pooled PFs between physicians and the rest of the medical staff. This policy was made retroactive to 2014.
Auditors said from 2014 to 2019, unclaimed PFs have accumulated to P36.068 million with P25.42 million from 2019 alone.
In 2020, PFs totaled P28.588 million of which only P962,513.05 was distributed to doctors and medical staff.
The COA recommended that the hospital head of TPDH undertake the “immediate distribution of the long outstanding amounts.”
It reminded the hospital management that, ideally, the PFs should be paid out regularly on a quarterly basis to ensure that doctors and other health workers receive the compensation due them.
