Health-facility licensing

First decision

Classify the facility and each service

Write down the proposed services, physical site, ownership, staffing and whether each service is hospital-based or stand-alone. Use the DOH's facility-specific issuances to determine the responsible licensing office and applicable authorizations. A business permit or PhilHealth accreditation does not replace a required DOH authorization.

Hospital

Establishing or changing a general hospital

AO 2023-0013 revised the rules for establishing general hospitals and removed the former Certificate of Need step. It did not dispense with applicable DOH permits, licensing standards or authorizations. Check the permit-to-construct and licence-to-operate processes before committing to construction or a new service line.

• Confirm whether the project is a new general hospital, an upgrade, or a change to an existing licence.
• Identify the DOH permit to construct and other pre-operational authorizations that apply to the proposed work.
• Review the facility's level and service capability with the current licensing checklist and regional DOH office.

Primary care

Stand-alone primary-care facilities

AO 2020-0047 sets licensing rules for government and private stand-alone primary-care facilities. Its stated scope excludes hospital and infirmary outpatient departments that deliver primary-care services. Read the order alongside any later amendment, transitional issuance and regional application requirements.

Additional services

Check each ancillary service separately

Clinical laboratories, imaging, dialysis, pharmacies and other services can have their own standards and permits. A facility's main licence does not answer every service-specific question. Use the current DOH list for the service involved and check whether the application goes through a one-stop licensing process or another regulator.

• List every planned service, including those delivered by a contractor or in a separate space.
• Check service-specific staffing, equipment, physical-plant and reporting requirements before opening.
• Track renewals, inspections and changes in capability against the applicable DOH or FDA authorization.

Garcia v. Salvador shows how laboratory safeguards affect patients: failures in physician supervision and authorization of an erroneous hepatitis report supported a damages award against the medical technologist. The case applied older laboratory rules; check current DOH requirements for the service you operate.

For blood services, Beltran v. Secretary of Health explains the public-health basis of the National Blood Services Act and the phaseout of commercial blood banks. It supplies the legal framework for safe, voluntary, non-profit blood services; the current DOH documents below supply facility-specific operating requirements.