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🇩🇴 Dominican Republic /Health & Science

The Penal Code Does Not Ban WhatsApp, but It Affects Doctors

From Diario Libre · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Penal Code, which took effect on Aug. 3, does not make doctor-patient communication through WhatsApp or other digital platforms a crime.
  • Lawyer Juan Medina said messages alone do not replace the medical documentation needed to support a physician’s decisions.
  • Some doctors have limited remote guidance and increased their record-keeping after Law 74-25 increased negligence penalties.

Doctors in the Dominican Republic can still use WhatsApp to communicate with patients, despite the entry into force of a new Penal Code on Aug. 3. The law does not prohibit digital exchanges involving test results, requests for medical guidance, laboratory tests or sick leave certificates.

But the tougher sanctions for negligence under Law 74-25 have made some professionals more cautious. Some doctors now limit the advice they provide outside a face-to-face consultation, reflecting concern that informal exchanges could create legal exposure if they are not properly documented.

Lawyer Juan Medina explained that a conversation between a doctor and patient does not, by itself, constitute a crime. He also warned that a single exchange cannot substitute for the medical records required to document care.

“The chat is not a crime, but a brief message is not a medical history and will not save you from a court. That is why they now document everything,” Medina said in audiovisual material posted on his account.

The chat is not a crime, but a brief message is not a medical history and will not save you from a court. That is why they now document everything.

· Juan MedinaThe lawyer described why doctors have become more cautious about communicating with patients outside in-person consultations.
About this summary

Originally published by Diario Libre in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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