2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-FOUR - Health and Sanitation (§§ 1 — 15010) › PART VII - Hospitals, Institutions and Health Programs (§§ 3001 — 3891) › Chapter 159 - Puerto Rico Health Information Network Act (§§ 3741 — 3752) › § 3743 - Powers and duties

The Network shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To adopt and implement exchange, security, and interoperability standards for electronic systems and health information, pursuant to federal and Commonwealth requirements within and outside the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.
(b) To create and manage the Master Patient Index, Provider Indexes, and other centralized indexes or registers required for the electronic exchange of information within and outside the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.
(c) To integrate, through technology and operational processes, the health data of patients, aimed at accomplishing the exchange of health information between affiliated and nonaffiliated entities within and outside the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.
(d) To implement, together with the Department of Health of Puerto Rico and in coordination with the Government of Puerto Rico and the United States Government, the HIE-related public policies drafted by the Department of Health of Puerto Rico in an integrated and uniform manner.
(e) To promote the active participation of healthcare service providers in Puerto Rico with regards to the secure and effective exchange of health information under health information standards.
(f) To plan, acquire, and establish the central technological infrastructure necessary to exchange patient health information.
(g) To design and implement the organizational structure required to operate the HIE.
(h) To develop and implement the regulations, norms, and procedures necessary for exchanging health information and operating the Network in compliance with the public policy drafted by the Department of Health and the applicable federal and Commonwealth laws and regulations. Furthermore, the Network shall counsel the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration so that the latter may effectively oversee and manage the implementation of the government health plan.
(i) To exercise such rights and powers as necessary or convenient to meet the aforementioned purposes, including, but not limited, to the following:
(1) To legally maintain its corporate name, unless this chapter is amended.
(2) To adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal, of which judicial notice be taken.
(3) To sue under its corporate name before any court and be a party to any court, administrative or any other proceeding.
(4) To execute contracts and documents as necessary or convenient to the exercise of any of its powers.
(5) To acquire real or personal, tangible or intangible property.
(6) To appoint staff as necessary for the operation of the Network.
(7) To accept gifts or contributions of any kind, insofar as these do not represent a conflict of interests between the party making the gift and the public purpose set, managed, and sought by the Network.
(j) To solicit and manage federal and Commonwealth public funds to promote, adopt, and implement the central technological infrastructure and HIE health information technology systems.
(k) To assess, fix, alter, impose, and charge reasonable fees, except to patients, in order to guarantee its fiscal sustainability.
(l) To determine access levels and controls for the exchange of health information.
(m) To adopt and promulgate the procedure to address and settle any controversy in connection with services rendered by the Network pursuant to the provisions on claim and complaint resolution of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) or to alternate methods for the settlement of disputes.
(n) To execute collaboration agreements with public and private institutions or organizations in order to improve the quality of healthcare services in Puerto Rico.
History —Feb. 2, 2012, No. 40, § 4.