Health facilities: licensure: outpatient clinic service.

Existing law provides for the licensure of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, and special hospitals, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health. Violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. Existing law requires that, upon the issuance or renewal of a general acute care, acute psychiatric, or special hospital license, the department separately identify on the license each supplemental service, including the address of where each outpatient service is provided and the type of services provided at each outpatient location. Existing law authorizes licensed general acute care hospitals and acute psychiatric hospitals to provide in any alternative setting health care services and programs that may be provided by any other provider of health care outside of a hospital building or which are not otherwise specifically prohibited by provisions of existing law regulating these facilities. It also requires the state department and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to adopt and enforce standards which permit these health facilities to use its space for alternative purposes. This bill would, among other things, require the department to approve a completed application by a licensed general acute care hospital that meets specified requirements to add or modify an outpatient clinic service as a supplemental service, add the outpatient service to the hospital license, and issue a new license, within 100 days of receipt of the completed application, unless the applicant does not meet specified requirements. The bill would limit the outpatient clinic service that is the subject of the application to providing only nonemergency primary health care services in a clinical environment to patients who remain in the outpatient clinic for less than 24 hours. The bill would define "outpatient clinic services" for purposes of the bill. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.