Draft bill 313.

Summary.

The draft bill aims to regulate cell phone use by public servants working in state health care facilities. It links that regulation to quality of care, patient safety, and service efficiency. It restricts personal cell phone use during working hours in inpatient and emergency rooms, medical and specialty consultation rooms, clinical or technical support services, and areas serving users. These areas include service counters, reception areas, administrative processing areas, and waiting rooms. Personal use must be avoided entirely while on duty, except as provided in the text. In those areas, public servants must keep their phones silenced or turned off and, if possible, stored in a secure place, except when needed for work or emergencies. Health care institutions must establish protocols to oversee compliance with the restriction and to receive and process justifications for exceptional personal use.

The text permits phone use for strictly work related purposes connected with health care, such as coordinating medical care, communicating urgently with professionals, and accessing authorized health applications or platforms. It also permits use in justified emergencies that endanger the life or physical integrity of patients or users, or require communication about serious events affecting the operation of the health care facility. Phone use is also permitted in break areas or outside working hours. The Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) and the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social) must establish internal policies, signage, and awareness campaigns on responsible cell phone use in health care facilities.

Noncompliance is classified as an administrative infraction and gives rise to disciplinary sanctions under the rules applicable to public servants. These may include a verbal or written reprimand, temporary suspension, and other sanctions according to the seriousness of the infraction and whether it is repeated. The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo), through the Ministry of Health, must issue implementing regulations within 6 months of promulgation. Its provisions must be incorporated into the internal personnel regulations of public and private health care institutions, in accordance with current labor legislation.

Users may report violations through mechanisms established by the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund. Complaints must protect the complainant’s confidentiality and be addressed within 15 business days; institutions must respond and impose sanctions where appropriate. Both entities may provide physical complaint boxes, telephone lines, and digital platforms. As a transitional measure, while facilities lack institutional systems for digitalization, internal communication, and electronic medical records, mobile devices may be used exclusively for patient care and safety; this does not justify personal use during working hours or in the presence of patients. The Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund must establish a phased hospital digitalization plan within 5 years. The proposal would take effect on the day after its promulgation. Its content concerns both entities, public and private health care institutions, their workers, and users of health services.