Summary.
The draft bill recognizes Electrocardiography Technician as a technical health profession serving the public interest, subject to the proposed law and the rules of the Technical Health Council (Consejo Técnico de Salud). It defines the professional as responsible for recording the heart’s electrical activity with electrocardiographs, preparing patients, and handling related equipment. Practice throughout Panama would require a professional certification issued by the Technical Health Council of the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud).
To obtain certification, an applicant must be a Panamanian national, hold a science high school diploma or its equivalent, and complete specialized studies comprising at least one thousand one hundred four (1,104) theoretical hours and eight hundred (800) practical hours, for a total of one thousand nine hundred four (1,904) hours. Training must last at least two (2) academic years and include at least six hundred forty (640) hours of clinical practice in facilities of the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social).
Under a specialist physician’s supervision, technicians may record electrocardiograms with 12 leads or more; place and remove Holter rhythm monitors and ambulatory blood pressure monitors and download their data; assist with stress tests and hemodynamic procedures; and provide technical support for echocardiography. They must also attend to preventive maintenance and cleaning of their equipment, protect the confidentiality of records, and identify those records correctly. The text bars them from making medical diagnoses, clinically interpreting results, or prescribing treatment.
Through the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund, the State would establish a salary scale based on years of service, academic level, and administrative responsibilities. The draft bill recognizes a right to continuing education and periodic training from employing institutions. It prohibits practice without certification. Unlawful practice would include performing the technician’s duties without certification or claiming clinical functions reserved to cardiologists or related specialists. A medical or administrative director who hires or allows uncertified personnel to perform those duties would also fall within its provisions.
The Technical Health Council would impose written reprimands, fines ranging from five hundred balboas (B/. 500.00) to five thousand balboas (B/. 5,000.00), suspension of certification for six (6) months to two (2) years, or permanent revocation, without prejudice to civil or criminal liability. Fine proceeds would enter the National Treasury (Tesoro Nacional) for inspection and oversight programs. People practicing under Resolution No. 7 of 2008 (Resolución N° 7 de 2008) and Resolution No. 11 of 2013 (Resolución N° 11 de 2013) would retain their right to practice and register their certification if they had not already done so. The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) would issue regulations within ninety (90) calendar days of promulgation; the proposed law would take effect upon its promulgation in the Official Gazette. The provisions concern the named public health bodies, private health facilities, their directors, technicians, and patients in Panama.
What it proposes.
- Recognition and professional certification of Electrocardiography Technicians.
- Training, technical duties, and limits on professional practice.
- Salary scale, continuing education, and penalties for violations.
Who it would affect.
- Electrocardiography Technicians and certification applicants.
- Public and private health facilities.
- Medical or administrative directors of health facilities.
- Institutions employing these professionals.
Key points.
- Recognizes the profession as a technical health activity and defines cardiac recording, patient preparation, and technical handling of equipment as its tasks.Arts. 1-2
- Requires professional certification from the Technical Health Council of the Ministry of Health to practice throughout Panama.Art. 3
- Sets nationality, high school education, study duration, training hours, and clinical practice requirements for certification.Art. 4
- Authorizes cardiac recording and support procedures under medical supervision and assigns duties concerning equipment and records.Art. 5
- Excludes medical diagnosis, clinical interpretation, and prescribing treatment from the technician’s scope of practice.Art. 6
- Provides for a salary scale and recognizes a right to continuing education and periodic training.Arts. 7-8
- Prohibits practice without certification and defines unlawful practice, including hiring or allowing uncertified personnel to perform these duties.Arts. 9-10
- Establishes reprimands, fines, suspension, or revocation of certification and directs fine proceeds to the National Treasury for inspection and oversight.Arts. 11-12