P.R. Laws tit. 20, § 134a
(a) The Insurance Commissioner of Puerto Rico, pursuant to the powers and duties conferred unto him/her by law, shall report to the Board as pertains to all malpractice cases against physicians or osteopaths finally adjudicated or settled judicially or out of court, within ten (10) days following the date the information is received from the insurance companies or agents; Provided, That in all judicial or out-of-court settlements, any clause whose effect is to prevent the affected party and the witnesses who intervened in the trial from declaring before the Board, shall be regarded as non-extant.
(b) Likewise, the Secretary of Health and any person, official or entity in charge of a quality assurance program at a health institution or facility, who is aware of facts which constitute an instance of medical malpractice, shall so notify the Board and request that the disciplinary actions provided for in this section be applied.
(c) As soon as the Board receives any information regarding any acts that constitute an instance of medical malpractice, whether or not a finally adjudicated or settled case, the Board shall initiate an investigation and render a report within the next ninety (90) days recommending whether it is in order to impose on the physician or osteopath in question, any of the disciplinary sanctions listed further.
(d) If the Board should recommend the imposition of disciplinary sanctions, these shall be imposed within ninety (90) days following the date of having rendered the report recommending the same.
(e) The foregoing terms may be deferrable when there is just cause for such an action.
(f) Among the possible sanctions that may be imposed by the Board are the following disciplinary sanctions:
(1) A censure decree against the licensed physician or osteopath.
(2) An order fixing on the physician or osteopath a probation period in the practice of the profession for a specific time lapse, and the probation conditions that best suit the protection of the public health and safety, and which the Board believes to be most adequate for the rehabilitation of the physician or osteopath placed on probation.
(3) Requiring the physician or osteopath to submit to periodical reviews in his/her professional practice by other physicians duly authorized by the Board, by resolution to such effect.
(4) Requiring the physician or osteopath to pursue additional professional training or education as determined by the Board.
(5) Suspending or revoking the license of the physician or osteopath and requiring the health care institution, if any, where the physician renders professional services to suspend or revoke the privilege of practicing his/her profession at said health facility or to suspend or revoke any other privileges accorded to him/her in connection with the practice of the profession.
(6) Restricting or limiting the practice of the physician or osteopath as the circumstances may require or as determined by the Board.
(g) The members of a Quality Assurance Committee, the health service providers, and any citizen, shall not be financially liable in actions for damages due to any act, procedure or testimony conducted or given as part of the functions of the Quality Assurance Committee, provided they do not act intentionally and aware of the damages that could be reasonably caused.
(h) Investigative Officer.— The Board shall request the Secretary of Justice to designate an Investigative Officer to conduct the investigations directed under this chapter, in cases of alleged medical malpractice. The Secretary of Justice shall, within the five (5) days after receiving such request, designate an Investigative Officer who shall have the following functions, powers, and duties:
(1) To direct and conduct all the investigations that, pursuant to this chapter, are to be conducted for alleged malpractice by physicians or osteopaths;
(2) to present his/her findings, the outcome of his/her investigations, and any and all pertinent proof at hearings held by the Medical Discipline and Licensure Board;
(3) To examine and cross-examine all witnesses presented before the “Medical Discipline and Licensure Board”;
(4) To defend and uphold the determinations of the Board before the Courts of Justice in Puerto Rico with all the powers and prerogatives conferred; and
(5) To hire the professional services of experts in cases where the opinion and testimony of a specialist are required in the investigation stage of an informal or formal disciplinary process.
The process to hire experts shall be governed by the provisions of §§ 8611–8615 of Title 3, an Act that establishes uniform parameters in the processes for contracting professionals or consulting services for government agencies and entities. The Board shall prescribe by regulations, to be approved within a term that shall not exceed ninety (90) days after the effective date of this act, any other contracting, credentials, and compensation-related parameters with which the Investigative Officer shall comply before hiring experts. The Board shall authorize the disbursement of funds to defray expenses related to the hiring of experts within a term not exceeding seven (7) business days from the date of receipt of the request from the Investigative Officer and may deny the disbursement of funds only in the case the contracting fails to meet the requirements established by regulations or in cases of fund insufficiency. The disbursements made for the payment of such professional fees shall be chargeable to the Board Expert Fund, as authorized in subsection (b) of § 135h of this title. Professional fees shall be limited to a reasonable number of hours necessary to complete the review of evidence and development of an expert opinion. The Board shall keep the Investigative Officer informed of the amount of funds available in the Board Expert Fund.
(i) In the discharge of his/her duties, the Investigative Officer shall have all the powers and authorities that the law confers onto the Prosecuting Attorneys of the Department of Justice in Puerto Rico and more specifically, but not limited to, the power and authority to:
(1) Summon witnesses and compel their appearance before him/her;
(2) take declarations and oaths;
(3) receive evidence submitted to him/her or which he/she requires in all matters within the scope of his/her functions and duties;
(4) demand the remittance of copies of books or documents, or excerpts thereof, in all matters within the scope of his/her functions and duties, and
(5) require the collaboration of any instrumentality or entity of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, in order to provide him/her with any resource or assistance as necessary for the effective discharge of the duties commissioned.
Summons issued by the Investigative Officer shall be undersigned by him/her and bear the seal of the Board, and may be served by any person over the age of eighteen (18) in any part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
If any person that has been summoned to appear before the Investigative Officer fails to appear or refuses to take an oath or to testify, or to answer any pertinent question, or to present any document, including settlement agreements, before the Investigative Officer, the latter may invoke assistance from any Part of the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico, in order to compel such an appearance, the testimony of witnesses and the presentation of documents; and said Court of First Instance shall, when presented with just cause, issue an order addressed to any person required to appear before the Investigative Officer and to present the required documents and/or to testify on the matter in question; and failure to obey said order shall constitute contempt and may be punished as such by the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico.
The Board, the Investigative Officer and/or his/her advisors or aides shall not disclose any information received as confidential, unless they are expressly authorized to do so by the person who furnished the same or when necessary to disclose such information to serve the public interest.
The Investigative Officer and the Board shall be held harmless from civil liability for their actions in the discharge of the functions they are assigned under this chapter. In the event that the Investigative Officer designated by the Department of Justice is not a public official, he/she shall be entitled to earn fees in the same manner as the legal services the Board is authorized to hire under this chapter and said fees shall be paid from funds appropriated to the Department of Justice of Puerto Rico.
The amount to be paid for the appearance of witnesses summoned by the Investigative Officer and for each mile driven by the same shall be fixed by the Board.
After a resolution is issued, the physician or osteopath may first request that the Board reconsider the Resolution within a term of ten (10) days following the date of notice thereof. Once the reconsideration has been settled, if adverse, he/she may resort to the Circuit Court of Appeals for recourse of review within a term of thirty (30) days following the date of notice thereof. For purposes of that which is provided herein, the Board shall be deemed to be an interested party to the proceeding to review its decisions.
In order to comply with this section, the Board shall be guaranteed the human (experts, investigative officers, among others) and the financial resources necessary for the entity to discharge the tasks assigned hereunder.
History —Aug. 1, 2008, No. 139, § 27, eff. Jan 1, 2009; Apr. 8, 2011, No. 57, § 2.