Section 1248.4 Of Chapter 1.3. Outpatient Settings From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 1.3.
1248.4
. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that an
accreditation agency operating on or before January 1, 1995, or a
successor thereof, or an accreditation agency thereafter operating as
part of a joint program granted temporary certification as an
accreditation agency by the division, whether operating as part of a
joint program or independently, and meeting the standards set forth
in this chapter, as determined by the division, not be required to go
through the entire application process with the division. Therefore,
the division may grant a temporary certificate of approval to such
an accreditation agency. The temporary approval issued to an
accreditation agency under this subdivision shall expire on January
1, 1998. In order to continue its status as an accreditation agency,
an accreditation agency approved by the division under this
subdivision shall apply for renewal of approval by the division on or
before January 1, 1998, and shall establish that it is in compliance
with the standards set forth in this chapter and any regulations
adopted pursuant thereto.
(b) Each accreditation agency approved by the division shall, on
and after January 1, 1995, promptly forward to the division a list of
each outpatient setting to which it has granted a certificate of
accreditation, as well as settings that have lost accreditation or
were denied accreditation.
(c) The division shall approve an accreditation agency that
applies for approval on a form prescribed by the division,
accompanied by payment of the fee prescribed by this chapter and
evidence that the accreditation agency meets the following criteria:
(1) Includes within its accreditation program, at a minimum, the
standards for accreditation of outpatient settings approved by the
division as well as standards for patient care and safety at the
setting.
(2) Submits its current accreditation standards to the division
every three years, or upon request for continuing approval by the
division.
(3) Maintains internal quality management programs to ensure
quality of the accreditation process.
(4) Has a process by which accreditation standards can be reviewed
and revised no less than every three years.
(5) Maintains an available pool of allied health care
practitioners to serve on accreditation review teams as appropriate.
(6) Has accreditation review teams that shall do all of the
following:
(A) Consist of at least one physician and surgeon who practices in
an outpatient setting; any other members shall be practicing
actively in these settings.
(B) Participate in formal educational training programs provided
by the accreditation agency in evaluation of the certification
standards at least every three years.
(7) The accreditation agency shall demonstrate that professional
members of its review team have experience in conducting review
activities of freestanding outpatient settings.
(8) Standards for accreditation shall be developed with the input
of the medical community and the ambulatory surgery industry.
(9) Accreditation reviewers shall be credentialed and screened by
the accreditation agency.
(10) The accreditation agency shall not have an ownership interest
in nor be involved in the operation of a freestanding outpatient
setting, nor in the delivery of health care services to patients.
(d) Accreditation agencies approved by the division shall forward
to the division copies of all certificates of accreditation and shall
notify the division promptly whenever the agency denies or revokes a
certificate of accreditation.
(e) A certification of an accreditation agency by the division
shall expire at midnight on the last day of a three-year term if not
renewed. The division shall establish by regulation the procedure for
renewal. To renew an unexpired approval, the accreditation agency
shall, on or before the date upon which the certification would
otherwise expire, apply for renewal on a form, and pay the renewal
fee, as prescribed by the division.