Clinic management systems in the Philippines, a buyer's guide.

A clinic day is a queue. The patient books or walks in, is checked in, sees the doctor, may be sent to the laboratory, and pays at the cashier. Each step should hand the patient to the next without a paper slip going missing.

• Appointments per doctor and schedule, and a queue number the patient can follow.
• The patient's chart: allergies, vitals, diagnoses with ICD-10 codes, procedures and prescriptions.
• Laboratory requests and results, released to the doctor and, where the clinic allows it, to the patient.
• A bill split between the patient, the HMO under its letter of authorisation, and PhilHealth.
• Doctors' professional fees computed per contract and paid out in runs.
• Medicines and supplies by lot and expiry, if the clinic dispenses.

Under the Universal Health Care Act (RA 11223) every Filipino is a PhilHealth member, and accredited facilities file claims through PhilHealth's electronic claims system for the packages they are accredited for. Claims have filing deadlines, so a system should show what is unfiled and how long is left.

HMO patients come with a letter of authorisation and a covered amount; the clinic bills the HMO and follows up the claim. Senior citizens (RA 9994) and persons with disabilities (RA 10754) get a 20% discount and VAT exemption on medical services and medicines, and the clinic must record the ID used.

Depending on what it offers, a clinic needs a DOH licence or permit, and its laboratory, pharmacy or X-ray each have their own. A prescription carries the doctor's PRC licence number and, under the Generics Act (RA 6675), the generic name of the medicine. Every sale needs a BIR-registered invoice or receipt, under the rules updated by the Ease of Paying Taxes Act (RA 11976).

A system should keep each licence with its expiry, print prescriptions with the doctor's details and the generic name, and issue receipts the BIR accepts.

Health records are sensitive personal information under RA 10173. The clinic must collect consent where it is required, let only the patient's care team open the chart, keep a log of who opened it, and be able to report a breach to the National Privacy Commission within the time the rules allow.

A spreadsheet or a shared folder cannot do any of that. This is often the strongest reason a clinic moves to a system.

A second branch, a laboratory or a dental chair each add their own records. Billing, doctors' fees, HMO claims and supplies should post to the books, so the accountant is not retyping the day's receipts.