The Dominican Medical Association will soon be known as the Colegio M?dico Dominicano. The 41-year-old body will spend a six-month transition period starting in August 2003. According to Severo Mercedes, president of the association, membership to the association will be mandatory to practice medicine in the Dominican Republic. He said that those violating the law will be taken to court. By his estimate, hundreds of individuals, both Dominican and foreign, will need to become affiliated to the medical association to legally practice their profession.