Section 128200 Of Article 1. Song-brown Health Care Workforce Training Act From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 107. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 1.
128200
. (a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act.
(b) (1) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that
physicians engaged in family medicine are in very short supply in
California. The current emphasis placed on specialization in medical
education has resulted in a shortage of physicians trained to provide
comprehensive primary health care to families. The Legislature
hereby declares that it regards the furtherance of a greater supply
of competent family physicians to be a public purpose of great
importance and further declares the establishment of the program
pursuant to this article to be a desirable, necessary, and economical
method of increasing the number of family physicians to provide
needed medical services to the people of California. The Legislature
further declares that it is to the benefit of the state to assist in
increasing the number of competent family physicians graduated by
colleges and universities of this state to provide primary health
care services to families within the state.
(2) The Legislature finds that the shortage of family physicians
can be improved by the placing of a higher priority by public and
private medical schools, hospitals, and other health care delivery
systems in this state, on the recruitment and improved training of
medical students and residents to meet the need for family
physicians. To help accomplish this goal, each medical school in
California is encouraged to organize a strong family medicine program
or department. It is the intent of the Legislature that the programs
or departments be headed by a physician who possesses specialty
certification in the field of family medicine, and has broad clinical
experience in the field of family medicine.
(3) The Legislature further finds that encouraging the training of
primary care physician's assistants and primary care nurse
practitioners will assist in making primary health care services more
accessible to the citizenry, and will, in conjunction with the
training of family physicians, lead to an improved health care
delivery system in California.
(4) Community hospitals in general and rural community hospitals
in particular, as well as other health care delivery systems, are
encouraged to develop family medicine residencies in affiliation or
association with accredited medical schools, to help meet the need
for family physicians in geographical areas of the state with
recognized family primary health care needs. Utilization of expanded
resources beyond university-based teaching hospitals should be
emphasized, including facilities in rural areas wherever possible.
(5) The Legislature also finds and declares that nurses are in
very short supply in California. The Legislature hereby declares that
it regards the furtherance of a greater supply of nurses to be a
public purpose of great importance and further declares the expansion
of the program pursuant to this article to include nurses to be a
desirable, necessary, and economical method of increasing the number
of nurses to provide needed nursing services to the people of
California.
(6) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for a program
designed primarily to increase the number of students and residents
receiving quality education and training in the primary care
specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and
gynecology, and pediatrics and as primary care physician's
assistants, primary care nurse practitioners, and registered nurses
and to maximize the delivery of primary care family physician
services to specific areas of California where there is a recognized
unmet priority need. This program is intended to be implemented
through contracts with accredited medical schools, teaching health
centers, programs that train primary care physician's assistants,
programs that train primary care nurse practitioners, programs that
train registered nurses, hospitals, and other health care delivery
systems based on per-student or per-resident capitation formulas. It
is further intended by the Legislature that the programs will be
professionally and administratively accountable so that the maximum
cost-effectiveness will be achieved in meeting the professional
training standards and criteria set forth in this article and Article
2 (commencing with Section 128250).