Title HSC — California Health & Safety Code

(a) When a dispute arises as to the interpretation or enforcement of regulations of the department that are being enforced by a city, county, city and county, or district, a request for clarification or interpretation may be submitted to the department. The department shall make …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, but to the extent consistent with applicable federal law or regulation, the director may, after a request by a board of supervisors of an affected county and after a public hearing held in accordance with Section 11346 of the Government…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department by regulation may provide for the issuance and renewal on a two-year basis of licenses, certificates of registration, or other indicia of authority issued pursuant to this code by the department. (b) The department ma…

(a) To the extent that funding is appropriated by the Legislature or available through private funds in each fiscal year, the department shall establish and maintain the California Electronic Violent Death Reporting System. (b) The department shall collect data on violent deaths …

For purposes of this article, “violent death” means a death resulting from the use of physical force or power against oneself, another person, or a group or community, and includes, but is not limited to, homicide, suicide, legal intervention deaths, unintentional firearm deaths,…

(a) On or after January 1, 2028, the State Department of Public Health, whenever collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents for a report that includes rates for major diseases, leading causes of death per demographic, subcategories for…

(a) Dental services, as defined in the Dental Practice Act, may be provided to a patient in a health facility licensed under this chapter. Those services shall be provided by a person licensed by the State of California pursuant to Section 1611 of the Business and Professions Cod…

(a) The rules of a health facility shall include provisions for use of the facility by, and staff privileges for, duly licensed podiatrists within the scope of their respective licensure, subject to rules and regulations governing such use or privileges established by the health …

(a) (1) Each health facility owned and operated by the state offering care or services within the scope of practice of a psychologist shall establish rules and medical staff bylaws that include provisions for medical staff membership and clinical privileges for clinical psycholog…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the exercise of privileges in any health facility may be limited, restricted, or revoked for the violation of such health facility’s rules, regulations, or procedures which are applied, in good faith, in a nondiscriminatory man…

(a) An adult patient who receives primary care services in a facility, clinic, unlicensed clinic, center, office, or other setting where primary care services are provided, shall be offered a hepatitis B screening test and a hepatitis C screening test, to the extent these service…

(a) Emergency services and care shall be provided to any person requesting the services or care, or for whom services or care is requested, for any condition in which the person is in danger of loss of life, or serious injury or illness, at any health facility licensed under this…

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall control the construction of this article and Section 1371.4: (a) (1) “Emergency services and care” means medical screening, examination, and evaluation by a physician and surgeon, or, to the extent permitted b…

Notwithstanding Sections 1317 and 1317.2, Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford shall be treated as a single licensed facility for purposes of providing emergency services and care to patients with conditions related to active labor pres…

A person needing emergency services and care shall not be transferred from a hospital to another hospital for any nonmedical reason (such as the person’s inability to pay for any emergency service or care) unless each of the following conditions are met: (a) The person is examine…

(a) A hospital that has a legal obligation, whether imposed by statute or by contract, to the extent of that contractual obligation, to any third-party payer, including, but not limited to, a health maintenance organization, health care service plan, nonprofit hospital service pl…

(a) As a condition of licensure, each hospital shall adopt, in consultation with the medical staff, policies and transfer protocols consistent with this article and regulations adopted hereunder. (b) As a condition of licensure, each hospital shall adopt a policy prohibiting disc…

(a) All hospitals shall maintain records of each transfer made or received, including the “Memorandum of Transfer” described in subdivision (f) of Section 1317.2, for a period of three years. (b) All hospitals making or receiving transfers shall file with the state department ann…

(a) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (j) of Section 1317.1, a patient may be transferred for admission to a psychiatric unit within a general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, or an acute psychiatric hospital, as defined in subdivision (b) of Sect…

(a) A psychiatric unit within a general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, a psychiatric health facility of more than 16 beds, as defined in Section 1250.2 and subject to subdivision (d), or an acute psychiatric hospital, as defined in subdivision…

(a) All alleged violations of this article and the regulations adopted hereunder shall be investigated by the state department. The state department, with the agreement of the local EMS agency, may refer violations of this article to the local EMS agency for investigation. The in…

A health facility licensed under this chapter that maintains and operates an emergency department may post a notice in a conspicuous place in the emergency department stating substantially the following: WE WILL NOT TOLERATE any form of threatening or aggressive behavior toward o…

(a) Hospitals found by the state department to have committed or to be responsible for a violation of this article or the regulations adopted pursuant thereto shall be subject to a civil penalty by the state department in an amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,…

(a) This article does not preempt any county or any other governmental agency acting within its authority from regulating emergency care or patient transfers, including the imposition of more specific duties, consistent with the requirements of this article and its implementing r…

If any provision of this article is declared unlawful or unconstitutional in any judicial action, the remaining provisions of this chapter shall remain in effect.

(a) This article shall not be construed as altering or repealing Section 2400 of the Business and Professions Code. (b) Nothing in Sections 1317 et seq. and 1798.170 et seq. shall prevent a physician from exercising his or her professional judgment in conflict with any state or l…

(a) The director shall require as a condition precedent to the issuance, or renewal, of any license for a health facility, if the licensee handles or will handle any money of patients within the health facility, that the applicant for the license or the renewal of the license fil…

The rules of a health facility may include provisions that require every member of the medical staff to have professional liability insurance as a condition to being on the medical staff of the health facility.

A skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility shall not require patients to purchase drugs, or rent or purchase medical supplies or equipment, from any particular pharmacy or other source. This section shall not preclude a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care …

No health facility shall advertise or represent in any way that it provides occupational therapy services unless such services are provided under the administrative control of the health facility by an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant within the meaning of…

A hospital which contracts with an insurer, nonprofit hospital service plan, or health care service plan shall not determine or condition medical staff membership or clinical privileges upon the basis of a physician and surgeon’s or podiatrist’s participation or nonparticipation …

(a) A health facility, as defined by subdivisions (c) to (g), inclusive, of Section 1250, which has a significant beneficial interest in an ancillary health service provider or which knows that an ancillary health service provider has a significant beneficial interest in the heal…

(a) A general acute care hospital shall notify each patient scheduled for a service in a hospital-based outpatient clinic when that service is available in another location that is not hospital-based. The notification shall be in substantially the following form: The location whe…

For purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply: (a) (1) “Gross receipts” means gross receipts paid as compensation for services provided to residents of a designated intermediate care facility. (2) “Gross receipts” does not mean charitable contributions. (3) …

In addition to the rate of payment that an eligible facility would otherwise receive for intermediate care facility services provided to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, an eligible facility shall receive quarterly supplemental Medi-Cal reimbursement, in an amount determined by the depart…

(a) (1) The department shall seek approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the implementation of this article. (2) If after seeking federal approval, federal approval is not obtained, this article shall not be implemented. (3) The Director of Healt…

In implementing this article, the department may utilize the services of the Medi-Cal fiscal intermediary through a change order to the fiscal intermediary contract to administer this program, consistent with the requirements of Sections 14104.6, 14104.7, 14104.8, and 14104.9 of …

(a) As a condition for participation in the Medi-Cal program, there shall be imposed each state fiscal year upon the entire gross receipts of a designated intermediate care facility a quality assurance fee, as calculated in accordance with subdivision (b). (b) The quality assuran…

For purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply: (a) (1) “Continuing care retirement community” means a provider of a continuum of services, including independent living services, assisted living services as defined in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Secti…

(a) For facilities licensed under subdivision (c) of Section 1250, there shall be imposed each fiscal year a uniform quality assurance fee per resident day. The uniform quality assurance fee shall be based upon the entire net revenue of all skilled nursing facilities subject to t…

(a) The quality assurance fee, as calculated pursuant to Section 1324.21, shall be paid by the provider to the department for deposit in the State Treasury on a monthly basis on or before the last day of the month following the month for which the fee is imposed, except as provid…

(a) The Director of Health Care Services, or their designee, shall administer this article. (b) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the director may implement and admin…

(a) The quality assurance fee assessed and collected pursuant to this article shall be deposited in the State Treasury. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), commencing August 1, 2013, the quality assurance fees, including any associated interest or penalties, assessed and collect…

The funds assessed pursuant to this article shall be available to enhance federal financial participation in the Medi-Cal program or to provide additional reimbursement to, and to support facility quality improvement efforts in, licensed skilled nursing facilities.

In implementing this article, the department may utilize the services of the Medi-Cal fiscal intermediary through a change order to the fiscal intermediary contract to administer this program, consistent with the requirements of Sections 14104.6, 14104.7, 14104.8, and 14104.9 of …

(a) In implementing this article, the department shall seek any federal approvals it deems necessary. This article shall be implemented only to the extent that any necessary federal approvals are obtained and federal financial participation is available and is not otherwise jeopa…

(a) This article shall be implemented as long as both of the following conditions are met: (1) The state receives federal approval of the quality assurance fee from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2) Legislation is enacted in the 2004 legislative session …

(a) The quality assurance fee shall cease to be assessed after December 31, 2026. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) and Section 1324.30, the department’s authority and obligation to collect all quality assurance fees and penalties, including interest, shall continue in effect a…

This article shall become inoperative after December 31, 2026, except that the department shall be authorized to conduct all necessary closeout activities after this date and to continue implementing this article for any rate period before December 31, 2026, and as of January 1, …

(a) On or before August 31 of each year, each designated intermediate care facility subject to Section 1324.2 shall report to the department, in a prescribed form, the facility’s gross receipts for the preceding state fiscal year. (b) On or before the last day of each calendar qu…