QUEZON 4th District Rep. Angelina ‘Helen’ Tan has filed a bill that aims to amend Republic Act 2382 or The Medical Act of 1959 to regulate medical education.

House Bill 1103 or the proposed Physicians Act also seeks to regulate licensure, residency and practice of medicine.

Tan stressed the need for a new law that is responsive to current circumstances.

“Over the years, dramatic advances in various disciplines in the science and technology of medicine have revolutionized the diagnosis, treatment and management of disease. The rapid progress of modern medicine dictates the need to upgrade and update the curriculum of the study and practice of medicine,” she said in her explanatory note.

House Bill 1103 promotes the professional services of physicians by ensuring the efficiency and responsiveness of the medical profession.

The measure seeks the regulation of the registration of physicians, practice of medicine, integration in one Accredited Professional Organization, and aims to promote competence, moral values and professional standards.

The bill mandates the creation of the Council of Medical Education which will be headed by the chairman of the Commission on Higher Education.

The Chancellor of the University of the Philippines-Manila will be a member of the council.

Under the bill, the medical course leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine shall be five years inclusive of clinical clerkship and internship.

House Bill 1103 also mandates medical schools to admit students who have not been finally convicted by a court of any criminal offense.

Only medical schools externally accredited by agencies and recognized by the council may accept foreign students.