Requiring Dentistry Practitioners to Keep Records of Their Patients

June 11, 1978

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1575

REQUIRING PRACTITIONERS OF DENTISTRY TO KEEP RECORDS OF THEIR PATIENTS

WHEREAS, the identification of persons is a necessary factor in solving crimes and in settling certain disputes such as claims for damages, insurance, and inheritance;

WHEREAS, in those cases where the identification of persons cannot be established through the regular means, identification through definition has been proven to be necessary and effective;

WHEREAS, however, records of dentition of persons are often not available due to the lack of systematic recording by dental practitioners of the dental history of their patients.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree the following:

SECTION 1. It shall be obligatory upon all practitioners of dentistry to keep and maintain an accurate and complete record of the dentition of all their patients which shall include a history and description of the patient's dentition and the treatments made thereon.

SECTION 2. Upon the lapse of ten years from the last entry, dental practitioners shall turn over the dental records of their patients to the National Bureau of Investigation for record purposes: Provided, that the said practitioners may retain copies thereof for their own files.

SECTION 3. Any violation of the provisions of this Decree shall be punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than one thousand pesos.

SECTION 4. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 11th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Eight.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 75 No. 7 Page 1326 on February 12, 1979.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 79 No. 20 Page 2959 on May 16, 1983.