P.R. Laws tit. 20, § 56a
The B.M.E. shall gather the following data in order to create a system of information about the individual physicians licensed in Puerto Rico in the manner provided by §§ 56—56e of this title. Said system shall be available to the public and include the following information:
(a) The name of the medical school where the physician studied and his or her graduation date;
(b) graduate medical studies;
(c) certification for medical specialty;
(d) years of practice and places where the physician has worked, including a brief description of his or her duties;
(e) name of the hospitals where the physician has visiting privileges;
(f) appointments or designations in educational medical faculties;
(g) information on papers published in medically-related publications;
(h) information related to activities undertaken or acknowledgements received for professional services to the community;
(i) present address of main workplace;
(j) information as to whether the professional participates in the Medicaid program or any other such program;
(k) description of any criminal conviction for a felony or misdemeanor that must be included as determined by the B.M.E. through regulations to that effect[. For purposes of this subsection, a person shall be considered convicted of a crime when the person has plead guilty or is found guilty by a court with jurisdiction];
(l) description of any disciplinary action taken by the B.M.E.;
(m) description of any disciplinary action taken by any board or board of examiners of any state or country;
(n) description of the revocation or involuntary restriction of the hospital privileges due to matters related to the physician’s professional competence as determined by the hospital’s governing board or by any other official authorized by the hospital and after having guaranteed due process, or of the reluctance to have his/her standing as a member of the medical team renewed, or of any action taken by the hospital as disciplinary measure related to the physician’s professional competence at the hospital;
(o) any judicial decision or monetary adjudication in favor of a plaintiff or a settlement whereby the B.M.E., after conducting the pertinent investigation, finds that the physician has incurred in medical malpractice. The provisions related to the payments made must be identified to include at least three different categories according to degree, level of importance or significance of the adjudication or settlement. The information related to the payments for medical malpractice must be presented within a comparative context according to the experiences gathered from other professionals of the same specialty. Any information related to any settlement or agreement must be accompanied by the following text: “An agreement or a settlement reached through any transaction may occur for different reasons which do not necessarily cast any negative reflection on the competence or conduct of the professional. Any payment made through an agreement related to a malpractice action or claim must not be interpreted as presuming that malpractice has occurred.” None of the provisions of this subsection must be construed as limiting or hindering the B.M.E. from providing explanatory additional information in relation to the significance of the settlement, according to the aforementioned categories.
Pending medical malpractice claims must not be divulged by the B.M.E. to the public. None of what is herein provided must be construed as hindering the B.M.E. from investigating and disciplining a physician on the basis of pending medical malpractice claims.
History —Aug. 15, 1999, No. 260, § 4, eff. 30 days after Aug. 17, 1999.