Esta ley establece que los fondos del Estado Libre Asociado asignados al Programa de Internado y Residencia de la Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad de Puerto Rico serán una asignación recurrente. El propósito es garantizar la acreditación de estos programas, lo que a su vez asegura el desarrollo de médicos especializados y subespecializados para ofrecer servicios de salud de alta calidad.
(Approved December 8, 2003)
To establish that the Commonwealth funds granted to the Internship and Residence Program of the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico are to be a recurring appropriation, in order to guarantee that said programs will stay credited, which shall lead to the development of specialized and sub-specialized physicians that are able to offer high-quality medical services to our fellow citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Health is a right protected by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Furthermore, it is the public policy of our Government to maintain the excellence in the health services offered in our country. In this particular case, the Commonwealth wishes to reiterate its steadfast commitment with the unconditional support to internship and residence programs of the public education system in the various specialties and subspecialties of medicine, which offer the graduate medical education to many students of our country.
For years, the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico, hereinafter the SMUPR, has maintained the clinical workshops needed to train its intern and resident medical students. In these workshops, students are exposed along with the medical faculty to the patients with medical problems, which paves the way to their integrated academic formation. The accreditation of the SMUPR as an academic institution has always been
recognized a countless number of times for its excellence in its different academic and clinical areas.
It is important to point out that the School of Medicine of our first teaching center offers 34 medical specialties and sub-specialties for which the training takes from 3 to 7 years to be completed; among these there are general specialties, such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, family medicine, and sub-specialties such as nephrology, cardiology, anesthesiology, otorhinolaryngology, neurosurgery and orthopedics, among others.
Among the benefits the Intern and Resident Program of the SMUPR offers to the country, we can point out that it allows the development of specialized and sub-specialized physicians to tend to the health problems of our fellow citizens. It also offers the option to pursue Graduate Medical Education studies in the Island, thus preventing physicians from migrating to the United States to study and subsequently practice medicine.
On the other hand, these programs guarantee the education of physicians that are well trained with the latest modern technology available. It also fosters the development of clinical research in our country. Another important aspect is that it offers 24 hours of training to interns and residents, which leads to a better service for patients. Likewise, prevention and education programs are offered to the patients. As a consequence, this environment fosters the development of a close physician-patient relationship through the interaction of the patient with his or her resident physician and the faculty member that supervises the latter. Likewise, more time is devoted to patients through the preparation of a rigorous medical history. The decisions concerning diagnosis and treatment of patients are
generally evaluated by a medical team and not by a single physician in particular.
The SMUPR is visited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, better known as the ACGME, which is the organization that credits the internship and residence graduate medical education programs of the medicine schools throughout the country. On one of its visits, the ACGME pointed out that the budget legislatively appropriated to the Internship and Residence Program of the School should be recurring and prolonged. It is important to clarify that the SMUPR obtained the highest qualification according to data of the last ACGME inspection, but there are items in the internship and residence workshops that should be strengthened, such as the one mentioned above. It is our duty to correct the indications made by the ACGME that are within our reach to prevent the next visit from putting at risk such important educational workshops.
It is important to stress that students from other universities in the country make their rotation into the programs of the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico to gain medical experience, workshops and training in stride with the modern technology as part of their curriculum.
The Legislature has the duty to protect our health system by supporting the internship and residence programs of the public education system through which the majority of the most prominent physicians of our country have been educated.
Therefore, this Legislature deems it a duty to approve pieces of legislation such as this one, which are geared toward the efforts to maintain the health of future generations of Puerto Ricans. It is also made with the purpose of continuing to reinforce the public policy of our government, in
terms of the attention that matters related to the health of all Puerto Ricans deserve.
Section 1.- It is hereby established that the Commonwealth funds granted to the Internship and Residence Program of the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico shall be a recurring appropriation, in order to guarantee that said programs will stay credited, which will lead to the development of specialized and sub-specialized physicians that are able to offer high-quality medical services to our fellow citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Section 2.- In subsequent years, the funds needed for the operations of the Internship and Residence Program of the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico shall be consigned in the General Expenses Budget of said university in an item separate from any office or dependency, upon presentation at the Legislature for its approval.
Section 3.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 299 (S.B. 2399) of the $6^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to establish that the Commonwealth funds granted to the Internship and Residence Program of the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico are to be a recurring appropriation, in order to guarantee that said programs will stay credited, which shall lead to the development of specialized and sub-specialized physicians that are able to offer high-quality medical services to our fellow citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $30^{ ext {th }}$ of August of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director