2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 1 - Workmen’s Accident Compensation (§§ 1 — 42) › § 1c - Medical-Industrial Council—Creation

(a) The Medical-Industrial Council is hereby created, consisting of seven (7) members, four (4) of which shall be doctors in medical sciences, of which one shall have experience in occupational medicine. These first four (4) members, whose professional training enables them to evaluate the medical services offered by the State Insurance Fund Corporation and the treatment that should be given to injured employees under the benefits of this chapter, must have been admitted into the practice of medicine in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The three (3) remaining members shall be a Health Services Administrator, a professional nurse, and a specialist in vocational rehabilitation or a social worker with experience in vocational rehabilitation, all of which shall be duly licensed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. No member of the Medical-Industrial Council shall have any financial or professional relationship with the State Insurance Fund Corporation.
One of the members of the Board of Directors of the State Insurance Fund Corporation, the Administrator of the State Insurance Fund Corporation and the Chairperson of the Industrial Commission may participate in the meetings of this Council without the right to vote. Five (5) members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
The seven (7) members of the Medical Council shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and all of them shall represent the public interest. One of the seven members shall be designated as Chairperson by the Governor and may participate in the meetings of the Board of Directors of the Corporation without the right to vote. The term of the Chairperson shall be six (6) years. The initial appointment of the remaining six (6) members shall be for six, five, four, three, two and one year, respectively. Every subsequent appointment shall be for only one additional term of six (6) years.
The Governor shall appoint two of the four members of the Council who shall be doctors in medicine, choosing one from each of two lists of five candidates submitted by the Secretary of Health and the Dean of the School of Medical Sciences. One of the two remaining members shall be designated in consultation with representatives of the labor movement and the other in consultation with representatives of the employer’s sector.
The three members that are not doctors in medicine shall be selected from an additional list of five candidates submitted to the Governor by the Secretary of Health and the Dean of the School of Medical Sciences, in consultation with the Dean of the School of Health-Related Professions, the Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health of said Medical School, and the Secretary of the Department of the Family, respectively.
The list of candidates to be appointed to the Medical Council shall be accompanied by any such information that may allow the Governor to evaluate the suitability and capability of those professionals in the field of medical sciences that are being recommended.
Upon expiration of the appointment of any member, his/her successor shall be appointed within a period of sixty (60) days. The person in office shall continue to fulfill his/her duties until the successor takes office.
Medical Council vacancies due to resignations, separations or death shall be covered within a period of sixty (60) days from the date of their occurrence and shall last for the remainder of the term of the original appointment.
All members of the Medical Council shall be legal residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and shall be subject to the provisions of Act No. 12 of July 24, 1985, known as “Ethics in Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Act.”
The Medical-Industrial Council shall appoint an Executive Official whose main duty shall be to insure compliance with the decisions and recommendations of the Council in the fulfillment of the duties and responsibilities described later in subsection (b) of this section. The Administrative Official shall carry out, in addition to the above stated duties, any other that may be entrusted to him/her by the Council. The Administrator shall provide the financial resources that may be necessary for the Medical Council to adequately fulfill its duties, including the office expenses of the Executive Official of the Council. To that effect, the Medical Council shall submit to the Board of Directors a budget of the financial resources that it may consider necessary to carry out the tasks imposed hereby.
(b) The Members of the Council shall have the following powers and responsibilities:
(1) Maintain communications and coordinate efforts with professionals of the various branches of medicine in order to get to know the latest advances in science regarding the treatment of employees who enjoy the benefits of this chapter.
(2) Design guidelines for the adequate treatment of the most common medical conditions presented by employees who avail themselves of the benefits of this chapter. Said guidelines shall include:
(A) A general description of the treatment that should be offered for each condition.
(B) The frequency of medical appointments for each condition
(i) with the inspecting doctor,
(ii) with the specialist doctors in the appropriate cases.
(C) Maximum treatment period for each condition.
These treatment guidelines shall be submitted to the Board of Directors of the Corporation for their ratification.
(3) Establish and keep under evaluation and continuous review the criteria and indicators of quality, efficiency and control in the use of medical services rendered to injured employees under the State Insurance Fund Corporation, insuring that they are complied with and seeking their continuous improvement.
(4) Carry out on their own or take steps through the Administrator and the Board of Directors of the Corporation so that continued studies are carried out concerning the latest developments in the field of occupational medicine, including physical and vocational rehabilitation. Take the necessary measures to see that the findings obtained from these studies reach the professional personnel in charge of rendering such services to the employees who benefit under this chapter and insure that these are used on their behalf.
(5) Obtain from the Administrator statistical data on the occurrence, severity and cost of the different medical services offered to the employees who benefit under this chapter.
(6) Appoint, at their own discretion, advisory committees for the various medical branches or specialties in order to obtain from them recommendations as to the best methods for rendering those services provided to employees under this chapter.
(7) Advise and orient the Board of Directors and the Administrator of the State Insurance Fund Corporation in the fulfillment of their responsibilities and provide the medical counseling they may request.
(8) Make recommendations to the Board of Directors of the Corporation, so that the aforesaid Board may inform the Governor and the Legislature as to possible modifications to this chapter in order to improve the medical services which this chapter provides.
(9) The members of the Council shall receive per diems determined by the Corporation through Resolution for their attendance to each meeting and shall be reimbursed all expenses necessary for discharging their duties.
History —Apr. 18, 1935, No. 45, p. 250, added as § 1C on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 83, § 1.