Law for the Prevention of Oncological Patients

PURPOSE.- The purpose of this Law is to ensure universal and comprehensive access to the person with cancer, establishing a regulatory and operational framework for the planning, development, and execution of public policies, programs, and actions intended for the prevention, detection and early diagnosis, timely treatment, palliative care, and rehabilitation of cancer in any of its manifestations, forms, or denominations, which will lead to the reduction in morbidity and mortality. Likewise, campaigns shall be developed to promote and guarantee access to the Human Papillomavirus vaccine and permanently prevent supply shortages of this vaccine.

SCOPE OF APPLICATION.- This Law is mandatory for all natural or legal persons, public institutions, autonomous organizations, non-profit or private organizations that perform procedures or activities related to cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation, including the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS) and institutions that comprise the National Health System.

PRINCIPLES.- The principles that govern this Law are:

• 1)

  Altruism;

• 2)

  Voluntariness;

• 3)

  Gratuity;

• 4)

  Subsidiarity;

• 5)

  Solidarity;

• 6)

  Transparency;

• 7)

  Equity;

• 8)

  Bioethics;

• 9)

  Quality;

• 10)

  Warmth;

• 11)

  Effectiveness; and, 12) Empathy.

GOVERNING ENTITY.- The Governing Entity in the application, execution, and monitoring of this Law is the State Secretariat of Health.

POWERS OF THE GOVERNING ENTITY.- The State Secretariat of Health, as Governing Entity, has the following powers:

• 1)

  Updating the National Policy for the Prevention, Detection, Timely Diagnosis, Treatment, and Rehabilitation of Oncology Patients, ensuring its mandatory application;

• 2)

  Development of the National Plan for Education, Prevention, Training of Human Resources, Detection and Early Diagnosis, Timely Treatment, Palliative Care, and Rehabilitation of Oncology Patients;

• 3)

  To develop, disseminate, and operationalize the National Program for Prevention, Detection and Early Diagnosis, Timely Treatment, Palliative Care, and Rehabilitation of Oncology Patients, as well as their respective protocols;

• 4)

  To organize and operationalize the mechanisms for a National Care Network for Oncology Patients, which must provide timely diagnosis indicating the comprehensive treatment that the patient should receive, quickly and systematically at different levels of care, guaranteeing the greatest probability of cure of their disease, and in case that such cure cannot be guaranteed, to provide the patient with the greatest survival with quality and in a comprehensive manner;

• 5)

  To ensure comprehensive treatment that has the greatest potential to contribute to the patient's health, improving quality of life, guaranteeing the reduction of mortality or disease-free survival and the physical and mental rehabilitation in accordance with clinical and scientific evidence of treatments that have shown the best results in patients in terms of quality, safety, and effectiveness;

• 6)

  To renew the problem-solving capacity in infrastructure, equipment, and technologies at a minimum in: radiotherapy, positron emission tomography, computed axial tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance equipment for oncology services, oncological nuclear medicine technology, and other new technologies, adequate medications for each case, and supplies in the establishments of the National Care Network, in accordance with cancer classification;

• 7)

  To guarantee the supply of adequate medications and therapies, such as: Chemotherapy, targeted therapies, monoclonal antibodies, immunotherapies, and new medications;

• 8)

  To promote and facilitate comprehensive qualification of health personnel at different levels of care in cancer prevention, care, and rehabilitation, in aspects such as: Leadership, multidisciplinary teamwork, humanization, awareness-raising, and the urgency of placing the patient at the center, evaluation of health technologies, knowledge, adoption, and design of regulations, guidelines, and care protocols for oncology patients, scientific research, and compliance with the National Registry of Oncology Patients;

• 9)

  To establish the mechanisms for referral and counter-referral of patients with suspicion or diagnosis of cancer;

• 10)

  To develop and update the National Registry of Oncology Patients, which allows knowledge of the incidence, prevalence, clinical evolution, morbidity, and mortality of this disease in the country, implementing the digitalization of diagnostic and treatment tools, which allow data collection, processing, analysis, and decision-making;

• 11)

  To facilitate citizen participation, from social and community organizations, as well as non-profit organizations and patient organizations in the prevention, promotion, education, accompaniment, and follow-up of persons with cancer;

• 12)

  To promote the execution of national and international cooperation agreements with governments and public and private entities, as well as non-profit organizations for: Comprehensive exchange of experiences in cancer, research and development of clinical studies, teaching, diagnosis, and treatment;

• 13)

  In close coordination with the State Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACIT), State Secretariat of Education (SEDUC), the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS), Emma Romero de Callejas Cancer Center, and other institutions that aid in the matter, to develop the National Educational Program for Cancer Awareness, adapting it to each level of formal education; and,

• 14)

  To promote, through the Honduran Institute of Social Security and any other entity or unit within institutions that comprise the System, private entities, and non-profit organizations, clinical, technological, and public health research that allows identifying the social and environmental determinants that are related to this pathology.

PALLIATIVE CARE.- The members of the National Health System that perform procedures or activities related to cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatments, and rehabilitation shall concentrate their efforts to guarantee palliative care to all oncology patients in terminal phase, as well as for the family and the population, which must be regulated by the Governing Entity.

NATIONAL CARE NETWORK FOR ONCOLOGY PATIENTS.- The Governing Entity in close coordination with the health service providers that comprise the National Health System, with the installed capacity of each one, shall organize the National Care Network for Oncology Patients, hereinafter "the Network" at different levels of care, with the purpose of efficiently resolving comprehensive care for persons with any manifestation, form, or denomination of cancer. It is the responsibility of the Network to receive and appropriately direct, regardless of their origin, every patient who is referred due to suspicion, diagnosis, and treatment of oncology patients, who must be cared for in accordance with the referral criteria of the physician.

NATIONAL BANK OF ONCOLOGY MEDICATIONS AND SUPPLIES.- The Governing Entity, in coordination with the National Health System, shall create a National Bank of Oncology Medications and Supplies that will be used for the diagnosis and treatment of persons with cancer, which include: Chemotherapy, targeted therapies, monoclonal antibodies, immunotherapies, ionizing radiation therapies, and other new medications with solid scientific basis that guarantee the greatest probability of cure or disease-free survival; it may also promote the joint purchase of the same.

MANDATORY CARE OBLIGATION.- All health service providers, public and private, must comply with the cancer patient care standards established by the Governing Entity in accordance with the classification or levels of care of health establishments and the functions attributed to them.

BUDGET.- The State Secretariat of Health is instructed to designate a specific budget line within the budget project of each fiscal year, intended exclusively for the implementation and effective execution of this Law. Additionally, the Secretariat must present a report to the National Congress, detailing any need for additional funds that are necessary to successfully achieve the objectives established in this legislation.

REGULATIONS.- The head of the State Secretariat of Health must issue the Regulations of this Law within a period of ninety days from its effective date.

ADVISORY COUNCIL.- The Oncology Advisory Council is created, which shall be composed of the State Secretariat of Health, the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS), the Medical Oncology Association, the Medical College of Honduras, the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), Oncology Organizations, Oncology Centers, Honduran Association of Children with Cancer, and similar organizations.

EFFECTIVE DATE.- This Law shall enter into force as of the day of its publication in the Official Journal "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Meeting Hall of the National Congress, on the nineteenth day of the month of March of two thousand twenty-four.