Section 11839.16 Of Article 1. Narcotic Treatment Programs From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 10.5. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 10. >> Article 1.
11839.16
. (a) (1) The director shall, in addition to any other
remedy, issue an order that prohibits a narcotic treatment program
from admitting new patients or from providing patients with take-home
dosages of a narcotic drug if the director determines, pursuant to
the compliance inspection procedures set out in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 11839.3, that a program has done any of
the following:
(A) Failed to provide adequate security measures over its narcotic
drug supply as agreed in the program's approved protocol.
(B) Failed to maintain a narcotic drug reconciliation system that
accounts for all incoming and outgoing narcotic drugs.
(C) Diverted narcotic drugs.
(D) Repeatedly violated one or more departmental or federal
regulations governing narcotic treatment programs, which violations
may subject, or may have subjected, a patient to a health or
life-endangering situation.
(E) Repeatedly violated one or more departmental or federal
regulations governing the provisions of take-home medication.
(F) Operated above combined licensed capacity for maintenance and
detoxification programs at a single location.
(2) (A) The order becomes effective when the department serves the
program with a copy of the order. The order shall state the
deficiencies forming the basis for the order and shall state the
corrective action required for the department to vacate the order.
The order, as it pertains to subparagraph (F) only, shall
automatically be vacated when the department receives the program's
written notification that licensed capacity has been achieved. If the
order is issued pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E),
the department shall vacate the order when the program submits a
corrective action plan that reasonably addresses the deficiency or
substantially conforms to the required action set out in the order.
(B) The department shall notify the program that the corrective
action plan is accepted or rejected within 10 working days after
receipt of the plan. If the department rejects the corrective action
plan, it shall detail its reason in writing. The department order is
vacated when the department either accepts a corrective action plan
and ensures substantial conformity with the required action set out
in the order or fails to reject a plan within 10 working days after
receipt of the plan.
(3) In addition to any other remedies, a failure of the program to
comply with the order of the department under this subdivision shall
give rise to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) a day
for each day that the order is violated.
(4) All civil penalties collected by the department under
paragraph (3) shall be deposited in the Narcotic Treatment Program
Licensing Trust Fund, and shall be used to offset the department's
costs associated with collecting the civil penalties, or associated
with any civil, administrative, or criminal action against the
program when appropriated for this purpose.
(b) (1) The director may, in addition to any other remedy, issue
an order temporarily suspending a narcotic treatment program license
prior to any administrative hearing for the reasons stated in
subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) when the department determines pursuant to the compliance
inspection procedures set out in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 11839.3, that the action is necessary to protect patients of
the program from any substantial threat to their health or safety, or
to protect the health or safety of the local community or the people
of the State of California. Prior to issuing the order, the director
shall ensure continuity of patient care by the program's guarantor
or through the transfer of patients to other licensed programs. The
director may issue any needed license or amend any other license in
his or her effort to assure that patient care is not impacted
adversely by the suspension order.
(2) The director shall notify the licensee of the temporary
suspension and the effective date thereof and at the same time shall
serve the licensee with an accusation. Upon receipt of a notice of
defense to the accusation by the licensee, the director shall, within
15 days, set the matter for hearing, and the hearing shall be held
as soon as possible, but not later than 20 days, exclusive of
weekends, after receipt of the notice. The temporary suspension shall
remain in effect until the hearing is completed and the director has
made a final determination on the merits. However, the temporary
suspension shall be deemed vacated if the director fails to make a
final determination on the merits within 20 days after the original
hearing has been completed. Failure to cease operating after the
department issues an order temporarily suspending the license shall
constitute an additional ground for license revocation and shall
constitute a violation of Section 11839.8. The department shall
suspend the program's license if the hearing outcome is adverse to
the license. The department shall notify the program of the license
suspension within five days of the director's final decision.
(c) A program may, at any time after it is served with an order,
petition the superior court to review the department's issuance of an
order or rejection of a corrective action plan.