P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 1984
The position of Advocate for Patients Beneficiaries of the Health Reform, hereinafter the Advocate, is hereby created, to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall fix the salary or compensation pursuant to the usual standards of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for positions of equal or similar nature. The Advocate shall hold office for a fixed term of ten (10) years.
The Governor, upon previous notice and hearing to the effect, may call a vacancy in the position of Advocate for Patients due to a mental or physical disability that impairs him/her to perform the functions of his/her office, negligence in the performance of his/her functions, or failure in the performance of his/her duties. The Advocate shall be licensed to practice the medical profession in Puerto Rico and thoroughly experienced in matters of health, preferably with formal training in the field of Public Health. The Advocate shall also be a person of moral probity and knowledgeable in matters germane to the health services received by the patients. The Advocate shall not render medical services to patients-beneficiaries of the Health Reform covered by this chapter, and shall hold office on a full-time basis.
The Advocate, as any physician by profession, shall keep his license effective and shall maintain his academic and professional knowledge to date by making time for pursuing continuing medical education courses, academic activities, and medical and clinical research unrelated to the functions and duties entrusted by this chapter.
In addition to the responsibility of complying with the functions set forth in this chapter, the Advocate is conferred the following powers and duties:
(1) To keep the postulates of the Bill of Rights of the Patient current concerning the patients-beneficiaries of the Health Reform, by submitting amendments in the form of bills to the Legislature in order to effectively fulfill their needs.
(2) To establish communications with medical groups, services providers, and insurers to improve and expedite access to health services.
(3) To establish offices and appoint the necessary personnel, who shall maintain direct contact with the medical care centers throughout the Island, be informed of the problems, receive complaints filed by patients, and ensure the quality of and speedy access to services.
(4) To advise and inform patients on the rights and responsibilities established in the Bill of Rights of the Patient and guarantee the commitment to the responsible use of health services and medical-hospital facilities.
(5) To identify the personnel of the Department of Health and the [Health Insurance Administration] qualified to collaborate in complying with the tasks entrusted to the Office and to evaluate their functions in order to select those resources needed to comply with the purposes of this chapter so that these resources be transferred to the Office through allocation, cession, transfer or assignment.
(6) To be instrumental and collaborate in obtaining funds and other resources from other Commonwealth agencies, municipal governments and entities, the federal government, and the private sector for the design and implementation of projects and programs to be carried out by the Office herein created, by the nongovernmental health organizations, by the civilian population or by other government entities.
(7) To request and obtain the cooperation and collaboration of the Department of Health, the Health Insurance Administration and any other public or private entity that renders services to patients or of any other agency that has to do with the assessment of the quality of these services and the management of grievances and complaints from patients, be it through donation, cession or assignment of fiscal resources, personnel, reports, records, data, equipment or any other resource or property necessary for the purposes of this chapter.
History —Apr. 11, 2001, No. 11, § 5; Sept. 3, 2004, No. 248, § 2.