PhilHealth encourages accreditation of birthing homes

THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has encouraged non-hospital facilities to participate in its Maternity Care and Newborn Care Packages (MCP and NCP).

In support of the country’s effort at reducing maternal and child mortality, PhilHealth increased its coverage of normal deliveries in non-hospital facilities—like lying-in clinics, maternity clinics, birthing homes and capable rural health units or health centers—in order to promote facility-assisted births.

Non-hospital facilities and its physician or midwife need to comply with the accreditation requirement.

Accreditation standards require service capabilities of the MCP-NCP provider, such as prenatal care, normal birth, newborn care, health education and postpartum care.

Technical standards require general infrastructure, basic consultation and delivery room equipment, standard supplies, records management, availability of a transport vehicle for emergency cases and human resource, and the facility must have a proper vision-mission statement and operations manual or clinical standards operating procedures.

The facility owner or his authorized representative must be affiliated with a level 2 PhilHealth-accredited hospital and its physician or midwife must be PhilHealth accredited.

The health care professional must have a partner physician who will accept referrals and provide further management for complicated obstetric and pediatric cases. The accreditation for MCP-NCP providers is valid for three years.