Title 41, Public Health

Unless the sealed envelope or wrapper is returned to a witness who is to appear personally, the copy of the records shall remain sealed and shall be opened only at the time of trial, deposition, or other hearing, upon the direction of the judge, court, officer, body, or tribunal …

The records shall be accompanied by an affidavit of a custodian stating in substance: (a) that the affiant is a duly authorized custodian of the records and has authority to certify said records, (b) that the copy is a true copy of all the records described in the subpoena, (c) t…

Upon receipt of an application for license and the license fee, the licensing agency shall issue a license if the applicant and hospital facilities meet the requirements established under Sections 41-9-1 through 41-9-35, and the requirements of Section 41-7-173 et seq., where det…

The personal attendance of the custodian shall be required if the subpoena duces tecum contains a clause which reads: “The procedure authorized pursuant to Section 41-9-103 will not be deemed sufficient compliance with this subpoena.”

The personal attendance of the custodian and the production of the original record shall be required if the subpoena duces tecum contains a clause which reads: “Original records are required, and the procedure authorized pursuant to Section 41-9-103 will not be deemed sufficient …

In view of the property right of the hospital in its records, original records may be withdrawn after introduction into evidence and copies substituted, unless otherwise directed for good cause by the court, judge, officer, body, or tribunal conducting the hearing. The custodian …

Proof that medical, hospital, and doctor bills were paid or incurred because of any illness, disease, or injury shall be prima facie evidence that such bills so paid or incurred were necessary and reasonable.

The licensing agency may issue temporary licenses under Sections 41-9-1 through 41-9-35 which shall be good for not more than six (6) months.

The licensing agency, after notice and opportunity for hearing to the applicant or licensee, is authorized to deny, suspend or revoke a license in any case in which it finds that there has been a substantial failure to comply with the requirements established under Section 41-9-1…

The licensing agency shall adopt, amend, promulgate and enforce such rules, regulations and standards with respect to all hospitals to be licensed under Section 41-9-11 as may be designed to further the accomplishment of the purposes of Sections 41-9-1 through 41-9-35 in promotin…

Any hospital which is in operation at the time of promulgation of any applicable rules, regulations or standards under Section 41-9-17, shall be given a reasonable time, under the particular circumstances not to exceed one year from the date of such promulgation, within which to …

This article is entitled and may be cited as the Mississippi Rural Hospital Flexibility Act of 1998.

It is the policy of the State of Mississippi to provide improved access to hospital and other health services for rural residents of the State of Mississippi and to promote regionalization of rural health services in Mississippi.

(a) When used in this article, the following definitions shall apply, unless the context indicates otherwise:(a) “Act” means the Mississippi Rural Hospital Flexibility Act of 1998.(b) “Critical access hospital” means a hospital which has been designated as a critical access hospi…

(1) The department is hereby authorized, in accordance with the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, as authorized by Section 4201 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Public Law 105-33, to develop for the State of Mississippi a state rural health-care plan that (a) provid…

Any hospital is authorized to seek designation as a critical access hospital. Subject to federal law, there shall be no requirement or limitation regarding the distance that a critical access hospital must be located from another hospital. The bed-size limit for a critical access…

The licensing agency shall make or cause to be made such inspections and investigations as it deems necessary. The licensing agency may prescribe by regulations that any licensee or applicant desiring to make specified types of alteration or addition to the facilities or to const…

If a hospital seeks a new license from the department in order to be designated as a critical access hospital, the department shall maintain a record of the acute care beds of that hospital that have been delicensed as a result of that designation and continue counting those beds…

In forming an integrated network and in contracting for services, members of a rural health network and officers, agents, representatives, employees and directors of any member thereof shall be considered to be acting pursuant to clearly expressed state policy as established in S…

The department shall adopt, in accordance with Section 25-43-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, rules and regulations for the establishment and operation of rural health networks, including the designation of critical access hospitals of rural areas and minimum standards, as ne…

Each individual and group policy of accident and sickness insurance, each contract issued by health maintenance organizations, and all coverage maintained by an entity authorized under any article of Chapter 41, Title 83 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, shall provide benefits for…

The department is hereby authorized to hire additional personnel to implement Sections 41-9-201 through 41-9-217 pursuant to specific appropriations to the department for such purposes.

Information received by the licensing agency through filed reports, inspection, or as otherwise authorized under Sections 41-9-1 through 41-9-35 shall not be disclosed publicly in such manner as to identify individuals, except in a proceeding involving the questions of licensure;…

The licensing agency shall prepare and publish an annual report of its activities and operations under Sections 41-9-1 et seq. A reasonable number of copies of such publication(s) shall be available in the office of the licensing agency to be furnished to persons requesting them,…

(a) As used in Sections 41-9-1 through 41-9-41, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Hospital” means a place devoted primarily to the maintenance and operation of facilities for the diagnosis, trea…

Sections 41-9-301 through 41-9-311 shall be known and may be cited as the “Rural and Private Hospitals Health Availability Act.”

(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:(a) In rural areas, access to health care is limited and the quality of health care is adversely affected by inadequate reimbursement and collection rates and difficulty in recruiting and retaining skilled health professionals.…

(a) For the purposes of Sections 41-9-301 through 41-9-311, the following terms shall have the following meanings:(a) “Act” means the Rural and Private Hospitals Health Availability Act.(b) “Affected person,” with respect to any application for a certificate of public advantage, …

(1) A rural hospital and any corporation, partnership, joint venture or any other entity, all of whose principals are rural hospitals, may negotiate and enter into cooperative agreements with other such persons in the state, subject to receipt of a certificate of public advantage…

Any applicant aggrieved by a decision of the department under this act shall be entitled to judicial review thereof in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, First Judicial District. In the review, the decision of the department shall be affirmed unless it is arbitrary, capricious, o…

Any applicant or licensee aggrieved by the decision of the licensing agency after a hearing may, within thirty (30) days after the mailing or serving of notice of the decision as provided in Section 41-9-15, file a notice of appeal in the chancery court of the First Judicial Dist…

Nothing in this act exempts hospitals from compliance with the provisions of Section 41-7-171 et seq. concerning certificates of need.

Any person establishing, conducting, managing or operating any hospital without a license as provided for in Section 41-9-11 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for the first offense and not more tha…

Notwithstanding the existence or pursuit of any other remedy, the licensing agency, may in the manner provided by law, upon the advice of the Attorney General who, except as otherwise authorized in Section 7-5-39, shall represent the licensing agency in the proceedings, maintain …

(1) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings as defined in this subsection:(a) “Department” means the State Department of Health; and(b) “Rural hospital” means a licensed Mississippi hospital that has fifty (50) or fewer licensed general acute, nonspec…

(1) (a) A hospital may grant paid educational leave to those applicants it deems qualified therefor, upon such terms and conditions as it may impose and as provided for in this section.(b) In order to be eligible for paid educational leave, an applicant must:(i) Be working at the…

(1) There is established the Mississippi Hospital Sustainability Grant Program which shall be administered by the State Department of Health. (2) In order to strengthen, improve and preserve access to Mississippi hospital care services for all Mississippians and in recognition of…

(1) Each year from October 1 through March 1 and in accordance with the latest recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each hospital shall offer, prior to discharge, immunizations against influenza vir…

(1) (a) The governing body of a privately owned hospital licensed under this chapter may establish a hospital police department if the hospital was previously publicly owned and had an established police department at the time that it was publicly owned or the wholly owned subsid…

(1) As used in this section, the terms “sexual assault” and “sexual assault evidence collection kit” have the meanings as defined in Section 99-51-1. (2) Each licensed hospital in the state that operates an emergency department shall be required to have at least one (1) physician…

Any hospital that reasonably activates a trauma care team in response to a request for trauma care services may charge the patient for the reasonable cost of activating those services and shall be reimbursed for those services by the health care insurer by assignment from the pat…

(a) As used in Sections 41-9-61 through 41-9-83:(a) “Hospital” shall have the meaning ascribed thereto by Section 41-9-3, regardless of the type of ownership or form of management or organization of the institution, and it shall include the proprietor and operator thereof.(b) “Ho…

All hospitals, their officers or employees and medical and nursing personnel practicing therein, shall with reasonable promptness prepare, make and maintain true and accurate hospital records complying with such methods and minimum standards as may be prescribed from time to time…

An electronic medical record or medical order containing an electronic signature is considered to be signed as a matter of law, if the electronic signature is affixed or verified in conformity with a reasonable security procedure for the purpose of verification of electronic sign…

(1) Hospital records are and shall remain the property of the various hospitals, subject however to reasonable access to the information contained in the records upon good cause shown by the patient, his personal representatives or heirs, his attending medical personnel and his d…

Except as otherwise provided by law, hospital records shall not constitute public records, and nothing contained in Sections 41-9-61 through 41-9-83 shall be deemed to impair any privilege of confidence conferred by law or the Mississippi Rules of Evidence on patients, their pers…