Title 20, Public Health and Welfare

(a) The State Board of Health shall require hospitals and other institutions which receive federal aid for construction under the state plan to comply with such minimum standards prescribed by the Department of Health as may be promulgated in accordance with the federal act and f…

(a) No hospital, recuperation center, or related institution shall be established, conducted, or maintained in this state without obtaining a license. (b) The State Board of Health may provide, by properly promulgating rules, for the issuance of a recuperation center license. (c)…

(a) The State Board of Health shall issue licenses for the operation of institutions, subject to this subchapter, when the institutions are found to comply with the provisions of this subchapter and such rules as are lawfully promulgated by the Department of Health. (b) The Depar…

(a) The State Board of Health is empowered to deny, suspend, or revoke licenses on any of the following grounds:(1) Violation of any of the provisions of this subchapter or the rules lawfully promulgated under this subchapter; or(2) Permitting, aiding, or abetting the commission …

(a) Any applicant or licensee who is dissatisfied with the decision of the State Board of Health or other body designated by the Department of Health or this subchapter as a result of the hearing provided in § 20-9-215 may appeal to the Pulaski County Circuit Court for judicial r…

(a) Before commencing alterations, additions, or new construction under this subchapter, a facility shall submit plans, including a plumbing plan that includes the plumbing as defined in § 17-38-101 and the water supply line and sewage line designs, and specifications that have b…

(a) The Department of Health is empowered to license under this subchapter and §§ 20-10-213 — 20-10-231 those hospitals which have discontinued inpatient services to continue to provide emergency services. (b) The emergency services facilities shall be subject to inspection and t…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Accrediting organization” means an organization that awards accreditation or certification to hospitals or managed care organizations and has been recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for deemed status, including without limi…

The Department of Health shall make an annual report of its activities and operations under this subchapter to the Governor and shall make such information available to the General Assembly as may be requested.

(a) Information received by the Department of Health through inspection, or otherwise, authorized under this subchapter, shall not be disclosed publicly in such manner as to identify individuals or institutions except in a proceeding involving the question of licensing or revocat…

The Department of Health may levy and collect a fee for the issuance of an annual certification to child health management services clinics. The certification fee for a child health management services clinic shall be an annual fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000).

A medical office owned and operated by a physician or more than one (1) physician may apply for licensure by the State Board of Health as an outpatient surgery center.

(a) A healthcare facility shall be eligible to apply for a rural emergency hospital license if the healthcare facility on or before December 27, 2020, was a:(1) Licensed critical access hospital;(2) General hospital with not more than fifty (50) licensed beds located in a county …

(a) All public and private hospitals located and operated in this state shall post in some conspicuous place in each patient's room the daily room rates for both a private and a semiprivate room. (b) Any hospital or person violating subsection (a) of this section shall be guilty …

(a) (1) (A) (i) A hospital shall not perform an abortion unless the abortion is to save the life of the pregnant woman in a medical emergency under § 5-61-304 or § 5-61-404.(ii) An abortion permitted under § 5-61-304 or § 5-61-404 shall not be performed or attempted unless the ab…

(a) All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other data of the State Board of Health, the Arkansas Medical Society, allied medical societies, or in-hospital staff committees of licensed hospitals, but not the original medical records pertaining to the patie…

(a) (1) Any nonprofit hospital association or corporation organized under the laws of this state that operates and maintains a hospital facility in this state primarily for providing hospital services for the employees of any corporation or company engaged in interstate commerce …

(a) All public-supported hospitals in the State of Arkansas shall publish an annual report including financial statements showing profits, expenditures, and operating costs. (b) Every such hospital shall publish its annual report in a newspaper of general circulation within the c…

(a) (1) Upon the patient's request at the time of discharge of each patient or at the time of billing the patient or the insurance company for the patient or at the time of billing the patient or the insurance company for the hospital services, drugs, and supplies, each hospital …

When requested, any physician, surgeon, hospital administrator, nurse, technologist, and any other person engaged in work in or about a licensed hospital and having any information or knowledge relating to the medical and hospital care provided in the hospital or to the efficient…

(a) This section may be cited as the “Emergency Medical Care Act”. (b) Because of the need for rapid assessment and care, in order to protect the life and health of the people of Arkansas during a medical emergency, it is found and declared necessary:(1) To establish a definition…

(1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no person or medical facility serving as a custodian of health or medical records shall be subject to any civil or criminal liability for:(1) Providing access to or producing copies of the records pursuant to a subpoena issued by…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Numerous workers who are occupationally exposed to blood-borne pathogens have contracted fatal and other serious viruses and diseases, including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, from exposure to blood an…

(a) (1) An abortion facility shall enter into a written agreement with a licensed acute care hospital that is capable of treating patients with unforeseen complications related to procedures performed at an abortion facility.(2) Under the written agreement described in subdivisio…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Hospitals Without Walls initiative and other Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-certified facility flexibilities allow:(A) Participating ambulatory surgery centers to convert to licensed h…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Under 45 C.F.R. Part 180, each hospital operating in the United States is required to provide clear, accessible pricing information online about the items and services that the hospital provides; and(2) Easy-to-understand pricing informatio…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Freestanding birthing center” means any facility, institution, or place, which is not an ambulatory surgical center or a hospital or in a hospital, organized to provide family-centered maternity care for women and childbearing families in which…

(a) A freestanding birthing center shall have a qualified medical director, and deliveries shall be performed by a qualified physician or by a certified nurse midwife in accordance with an arrangement with a physician as required by § 17-87-101 et seq. (b) A mother and her infant…

(a) The Department of Health shall establish and enforce rules:(1) Setting minimum standards for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a freestanding birthing center; and(2) Setting qualifications for medical directors of freestanding birthing centers and for physicians…

The Department of Health may levy and collect a fee for the issuance of an annual license to a freestanding birthing center. The license fee for a freestanding birthing center shall be an annual fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000).

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit the lawful practice of lay midwifery in any location under the Licensed Lay Midwife Act, § 17-85-101 et seq.

(1) As used in this subchapter, “peer review committee” or “committee” means a committee of a hospital medical staff, a committee of a state or local professional association, or a committee organized by and operating pursuant to a written plan or policy under the auspices of a p…

(a) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages shall arise against, any member of a peer review committee for any act or proceeding undertaken or performed within the scope of the functions of the committee if the committee member acts…

(a) (1) The proceedings and records of a peer review committee shall not be subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil action against a provider of professional health services arising out of the matters which are subject to evaluation and review by the commi…

(a) As used in this subchapter, “of unsound mind” means the inability to perceive all relevant facts related to one's condition and proposed treatment so as to make an intelligent decision based thereon, whether or not the inability is:(1) Only temporary, has existed for an exten…

(1) It is recognized and established that, in addition to other authorized persons, any one (1) of the following persons may consent, either orally or otherwise, to any surgical or medical treatment or procedure not prohibited by law that is suggested, recommended, prescribed, or…

(1) In addition to any other instances in which consent is excused or implied at law, consent to surgical or medical treatment or procedures suggested, recommended, prescribed, or directed by a licensed physician will be implied in the following circumstances:(1) (A) When an emer…

(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, consent may be given by a court when:(A) An emergency exists;(B) There has been a protest or refusal of consent by a person authorized and empowered to do so; and(C) There is no other person immediately available who i…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as “Simon's Law”. (b) As used in this section:(1) “Healthcare institution” means the same as defined in § 20- 6-102;(2) “Healthcare provider” means the same as defined in § 20-6-102; and(3) “Minor” means an individual who is under …

(a) A healthcare professional shall not perform a pelvic examination on an unconscious or anesthetized patient unless:(1) The healthcare professional obtains written consent from the patient or the patient's representative before performing the pelvic examination;(2) A court orde…

The agency administering the Medicare program in Arkansas shall establish reasonable charges on a single statewide basis according to field of practice. The reasonable charges shall be based on uniform prevailing limits for all physicians throughout the state for the same or simi…

(a) Physicians and others appointed to hospital utilization review committees for the purpose of determining questions relating to the hospitalization of Medicare patients under the Health Insurance for the Aged and Disabled Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395 et seq., shall be immune from lia…

(a) The availability of scientific knowledge, skills, and materials for the transplantation, injection, transfusion, or transfer of human tissue, organs, blood, and components thereof is important to the health and welfare of the people of this state. (b) The imposition of legal …

No physician, surgeon, hospital, blood bank, tissue bank, or other person or entity who donates, obtains, prepares, transplants, injects, transfuses, or otherwise transfers or who assists or participates in obtaining, preparing, transplanting, injecting, transfusing, or transferr…

(1) The purpose of this subchapter is to:(1) Promote the delivery of quality health care in a cost-effective manner;(2) Foster greater coordination between payors and providers conducting utilization review activities;(3) Protect patients, business, and providers by ensuring that…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Certificate” means a certificate of registration granted by the State Board of Health to a private review agent;(2) (A) “Private review agent” means a nonhospital-affiliated person or entity performing utilization review on behalf of:(i) An emp…