Alabama Administrative Code

(1) A health maintenance organization shall develop and adhere to written procedures for informing enrollees of at least the following rights: (a) An enrollee has the right to timely and effective redress of grievances through a system established under 420-5-6-.08; (b) An enroll…

(1) When the Department may direct for cause, each health maintenance organization shall have an external quality improvement assessment performed. (2) The assessment shall study the quality of care being provided to plan enrollees and the effectiveness of the quality improvement…

(1) Any person which has received a Certificate of Authority to operate a health maintenance organization shall submit before March 1 of each year a detailed report of its activities during the preceding calendar year. The report shall include, at least, the following: (a) A copy…

(1) The Department may, at its discretion, for justifiable reasons and only in cases where the health, safety, and welfare of any citizens would not be impaired, grant exceptions to and departures from this Chapter when the policy objectives and intentions of this Chapter are oth…

(1) Legal Authority for Adoption of Rules. The following rules for hospitals are adopted by the Alabama State Board of Health pursuant to § 22-21-20, et seq., Code of Ala. 1975. (2) Definitions (a) Authorized Bed Capacity means the number of beds a hospital has available for inpa…

(1) Classifications of Licenses. All licenses are granted for the calendar year and shall expire on December 31 unless renewed by the owner for the succeeding year. (a) Unrestricted License. An unrestricted license may be granted by the Board after it has determined that the hosp…

(1) General. (a) Classification According to Services. Each hospital shall be classified as a General Acute Care Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital or a Specialized Hospital, corresponding to the services offered by the particular institution. (b) Confinement of Services. A hos…

(1) A hospital shall have an effective governing authority that is legally responsible for the conduct of the hospital as an institution. (2) Medical staff. The governing authority shall: (a) Appoint members of the medical staff after considering the recommendations of the existi…

(1) A hospital shall protect and promote each patient's rights. (2) Notice of rights. (a) The hospital shall inform each patient, or when appropriate, the patient's representative, of the patient's rights, in advance of furnishing or discontinuing patient care whenever possible. …

(1) Personnel Records. Each hospital shall maintain a personnel record for each employee. As a minimum, the record shall include an application for employment that contains information regarding the applicant's education, training experience, and if applicable, registration or li…

(1) A hospital shall be constructed, arranged, and maintained to ensure the safety of the patient, and to provide facilities for diagnosis and treatment and for special hospital services appropriate to the needs of the community. (2) Buildings and grounds shall be developed and m…

For transportation out of a facility, if a patient is unable to ride in an upright position or if such patient's condition is such that he or she needs observation or treatment by emergency medical services personnel, or if the patient requires transportation on a stretcher, gurn…

(1) The hospital shall have an organized medical staff that operates under bylaws approved by the governing authority and is responsible for the quality of medical care provided to patients by the hospital. (2) Composition of the medical staff. The medical staff shall be composed…

(1) The hospital shall develop, implement, and maintain an effective, ongoing, hospital-wide, data-driven quality assurance or quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) program. The hospital's governing authority shall ensure that the program reflects the complexity o…

(1) The hospital shall have an organized nursing service that provides 24-hour nursing services. The nursing services shall be furnished or supervised by a registered nurse. (2) Organization. The hospital shall have a well-organized service with a plan of administrative authority…

(1) The hospital shall provide a sanitary environment to avoid sources and transmission of infections and communicable diseases. There shall be an active program for the prevention, control, and investigation of infections and communicable diseases. (2) Organization and policies.…

(1) The hospital shall have a medical record service that has administrative responsibility for medical records. A medical record shall be maintained for every individual evaluated or treated in the hospital. (2) Organization and staffing. The organization of the medical record s…

(1) The hospital shall have organized dietary services that are directed and staffed by adequate qualified personnel. However, a hospital that has a contract with an outside food management company may meet the requirements of this rule if the company has a dietitian who serves t…

(1) The hospital shall meet the emergency needs of patients in accordance with acceptable standards of practice. (2) Organization and direction. (a) The services shall be organized under the direction of a qualified member of the medical staff. (b) The services shall be integrate…

(1) The hospital shall have pharmaceutical services that meet the needs of the patients. The institution shall have a pharmacy directed by a registered pharmacist or a drug storage area under competent supervision. The medical staff in conjunction with pharmacy department is resp…

(1) If the hospital provides surgical services, the services shall be well organized and provided in accordance with acceptable standards of practice. If outpatient surgical services are offered the services shall be consistent in quality with inpatient care in accordance with th…

(1) If the hospital furnishes anesthesia services, they shall be provided in a well-organized manner under the direction of a qualified doctor of medicine or osteopathy. The service is responsible for all anesthesia administered in the hospital. (2) Organization and staffing. The…

(1) The hospital shall maintain, or have available, diagnostic radiologic services. If therapeutic services are also provided, they, as well as the diagnostic services, shall meet professionally approved standards for safety and personnel qualifications. (2) Radiologic services. …

(1) The hospital shall maintain, or have available, adequate laboratory services to meet the needs of its patients. (2) Adequacy of laboratory services. The hospital shall have laboratory services available, either directly or through a contractual agreement with a certified labo…

(1) If the hospital provides nuclear medicine services, those services shall meet the needs of the patients in accordance with acceptable standards of practice. (2) Organization and staffing. The organization of the nuclear medicine service shall be appropriate to the scope and c…

(1) If the hospital provides rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, or speech pathology services, the services shall be organized and staffed to ensure the health and safety of patients. (2) Organization and staffing. The organization of the service sh…

(1) The hospital shall meet the needs of the patients in accordance with acceptable standards of practice. The following requirements apply if the hospital provides respiratory care service. (2) Organization and Staffing. The organization of the respiratory care services shall be…

(1) If the hospital provides outpatient services, the services shall meet the needs of the patients in accordance with acceptable standards of practice. (2) Organization. Outpatient services shall be appropriately organized and integrated with inpatient services. (3) Personnel. T…

(1) The hospital shall have in effect a discharge planning process that applies to all patients. The hospital's policies and procedures shall be specified in writing. (2) Identification of patients in need of discharge planning. The hospital shall identify at an early stage of ho…

(1) A psychiatric hospital, or an inpatient psychiatric program within a hospital that is not a psychiatric hospital, shall be primarily engaged in providing, by or under the supervision of a doctor of medicine or osteopathy, psychiatric services for the diagnosis and treatment o…

(1) The hospital shall develop and implement a comprehensive plan to ensure that the safety and well being of patients are assured during emergency situations. The hospital shall participate in the Alabama Incident Management System (AIMS) and coordinate with federal, state, and …

(1) Legal Authority for Adoption of Rules. Under and by virtue of authority vested in it by the Legislature of Alabama, Code of Ala. 1975, Section 22-21-20, et seq., requiring independent clinical laboratories and health care institutions engaged in offering diagnostic services t…

(1) Types of License. (a) Regular License. A regular license may be issued by the State Board of Health after the board has determined that the independent clinical or physiological laboratory is in substantial compliance with the Rules herein adopted. (b) Probational license. Th…

(1) Director. (a) A director shall meet one of the following requirements: 1. Is a physician licensed to practice medicine in Alabama with at least two years of pertinent laboratory experience. 2. Holds an earned doctoral degree from an accredited institution with a chemical, phy…

(1) Personnel. (a) The laboratory shall be under the direction of a director and shall provide the number of other qualified personnel commensurate with the volume and type of tests performed. (b) The laboratory shall perform only those laboratory procedures and tests that are wi…

(1) Each independent physiological laboratory must have a governing body responsible for the management, control and operation of the facility. Said governing body is responsible for employing a qualified person to serve as the laboratory's medical director. Any change in the app…

(1) Local Restrictions. The location and construction of all independent laboratories shall comply with local building and fire ordinances. (2) Water Supply. If at all possible, all water shall be obtained from a public water supply. If it is impossible to connect to a public wat…

(1) Legal Authority for Adoption of Rules. The following rules for Freestanding Emergency Departments are adopted by the Alabama State Board of Health pursuant to § 22-21-20, et seq., Code of Ala. 1975. (2) Definitions. (a) Board or State Board of Health means the Alabama State B…

(1) Classifications of Licenses. Each FED shall be licensed pursuant to the regulations adopted herein. All licenses are granted for the calendar year and shall expire on December 31 unless renewed by the owner for the succeeding year. (a) Unrestricted License. An unrestricted li…

(1) An FED and its parent hospital shall have an effective governing authority that is legally responsible for the conduct of the FED and parent hospital as an institution. The Governing Authority governing authority of the parent hospital shall provide administrative oversight f…

The FED, as a department of the parent hospital, shall have an obligation to protect and promote the rights of each patient and shall be governed by the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter 420-5-7, Ala. Admin. Code. Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-5-9-.04 New Rule: Filled July 22,…

(1) The freestanding emergency department (FED), as a department of the parent hospital, shall have personnel management as a section of the hospital's personnel system and shall be governed by the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter 420-5-7, Ala. Admin. Code. The FED shall be a…

(1) An FED shall be constructed, arranged, and maintained to ensure the safety of the patient, and to provide facilities for diagnosis and treatment of patients as a department of the parent hospital and shall comply with the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter 420-5-7, Ala. Adm…

(1) Each FED shall have an inter-facility transfer protocol with the parent hospital. The FED shall have a transportation agreement with licensed ground and air emergency medical provider services for necessary transport of patients to the appropriate acute care hospital primaril…

The members of the FED medical staff shall be credentialed by and be part of the medical staff of the parent hospital, and shall conform to the medical staff bylaws and rules and regulations of the parent hospital and shall be governed by the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter …

The FED shall participate in the parent hospital's Quality Assurance or Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) Program and shall be governed by the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter 420-5-7, Ala. Admin. Code. Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-5-9-.09 New Rule: Fille…

The FED shall have an organized nursing service that provides 24-hour nursing services that meets the needs of the patients. The nursing services shall be furnished or supervised by a registered nurse and shall be governed by the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter 420-5-7, Ala.…

(1) The FED shall provide a sanitary environment to avoid sources and transmission of infections and communicable diseases. There shall be an active program for the prevention, control, and investigation of infections and communicable diseases supervised and administered_by the p…

(1) The FED shall have medical records fully integrated in the medical record system of the parent hospital and shall be governed by the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter 420-5-7, Ala. Admin. Code. Each FED shall also maintain a picture archiving and communications system ("PA…

(1) The FED shall have appropriate food and beverages available for the patients. The FED shall be responsible for meeting the nutritional needs of patients. The food services provided to patients shall be governed by the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter 420-5-7, Ala. Admin. …