Title 70 — Title 70 PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY

The powers and duties of the department of social and health services under this chapter shall be performed by the department of health.[ 1989 1st ex.s. c 9 s 249.]Notes:Effective date—Severability—1989 1st ex.s. c 9: See RCW 43.70.910 and 43.70.920.

The primary purpose of this chapter is to promote safe and adequate care of individuals in hospitals through the development, establishment and enforcement of minimum hospital standards for maintenance and operation. To accomplish these purposes, this chapter provides for:(1) The…

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms, whenever used in this chapter, shall be deemed to have the following meanings:(1) "Aftercare" means the assistance provided by a lay caregiver to a patient under this chapter after the patient's discharge from a…

The department shall establish and adopt such minimum standards and rules pertaining to the construction, maintenance, and operation of hospitals, and rescind, amend, or modify such rules from time to time, as are necessary in the public interest, and particularly for the establi…

The enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and the standards, rules and regulations established under this chapter, shall be the responsibility of the department which shall cooperate with the joint commission on the accreditation of health care organizations. The departme…

(1) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section.(a) "Agency" means a department of state government created under RCW 43.17.010 and the office of the state auditor.(b) "Audit" means an examination of records or f…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2577-S.SL) ***Standards for fire protection and the enforcement thereof, with respect to all hospitals to be licensed hereunder shall be the responsibility of the chief of the Washington state patrol, through the director of fire protection, who shall …

(1) No person or governmental unit of the state of Washington, acting separately or jointly with any other person or governmental unit, shall establish, maintain, or conduct a hospital in this state, or use the word "hospital" to describe or identify an institution, without a lic…

An application for license shall be made to the department upon forms provided by it and shall contain such information as the department reasonably requires which may include affirmative evidence of ability to comply with the standards, rules, and regulations as are lawfully pre…

Upon receipt of an application for license and the license fee, the department shall issue a license or a provisional license if the applicant and the hospital facilities meet the requirements of this chapter and the standards, rules and regulations established by the department.…

(1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(a) "Emergency services" means health care services medically necessary to evaluate and treat a medical condition that manifests itself by the acute onset of a sympt…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2577-S.SL) ***(1) The department shall make or cause to be made an unannounced inspection of all hospitals on average at least every eighteen months. Every inspection of a hospital may include an inspection of every part of the premises. The department…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2577-S.SL) ***Surveys conducted on hospitals by the joint commission on the accreditation of health care organizations, the American osteopathic association, or Det Norske Veritas shall be deemed equivalent to a department survey for purposes of meetin…

(1) The department shall coordinate its hospital construction review process with other state and local agencies having similar review responsibilities, including the department of labor and industries, the office of the state fire marshal, and local building and fire officials. …

(1) The department is authorized to take any of the actions identified in this section against a hospital's license or provisional license in any case in which it finds that there has been a failure or refusal to comply with the requirements of this chapter or the standards or ru…

Information received by the department through filed reports, inspection, or as otherwise authorized under this chapter, may be disclosed publicly, as permitted under chapter 42.56 RCW, subject to the following provisions:(1) Licensing inspections, or complaint investigations reg…

Any complaint against a hospital and event notification required by the department that concerns patient well-being shall be investigated.[ 2000 c 6 s 2.]

Notwithstanding the existence or pursuit of any other remedy, the department may, in the manner provided by law, upon the advice of the attorney general who shall represent the department in the proceedings, maintain an action in the name of the state for an injunction or other p…

Any person operating or maintaining a hospital without a license under this chapter, or, after June 30, 1989, initiating a tertiary health service as defined in *RCW 70.38.025(14) that is not approved under RCW 70.38.105 and 70.38.115, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and each d…

Nothing contained in this chapter shall in any way authorize the department to establish standards, rules and regulations governing the professional services rendered by any physician.[ 1985 c 213 s 26; 1955 c 267 s 18.]Notes:Savings—Effective date—1985 c 213: See notes following…

(1) A hospital shall retain and preserve all medical records for a minimum period of 26 years from the date the record was created. A hospital may retain medical records on paper, microfilm, electronically, or on other media.(a) This subsection applies to:(i) Medical records crea…

(1) Every hospital shall maintain a coordinated quality improvement program for the improvement of the quality of health care services rendered to patients and the identification and prevention of medical malpractice. The program shall include at least the following:(a) The estab…

(1) All meetings, proceedings, and deliberations of the governing body, its staff or agents, concerning the granting, denial, revocation, restriction, or other consideration of the status of the clinical or staff privileges of a physician or other health care provider as defined …

(1) The chief administrator or executive officer of a hospital shall report to the department when the practice of a health care practitioner as defined in subsection (2) of this section is restricted, suspended, limited, or terminated based upon a conviction, determination, or f…

Each hospital shall keep written records of decisions to restrict or terminate privileges of practitioners. Copies of such records shall be made available to the board within thirty days of a request and all information so gained shall remain confidential in accordance with RCW 7…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, prior to granting or renewing clinical privileges or association of any physician, physician assistant, or *advanced registered nurse practitioner or hiring a physician, physician assistant, or *advanced registered nurse p…

A hospital that provides health care services to the general public may not discriminate against a qualified doctor of osteopathic medicine and surgery licensed under chapter 18.57 RCW, who has applied to practice with the hospital, solely because that practitioner was board cert…

The department of health shall compile and make available to the public information regarding medicare health care facility certification options available to hospitals licensed under this title that desire to convert to nonhospital health care facilities. The information provide…

(1) The legislature finds that the spiraling costs of health care continue to surmount efforts to contain them, increasing at approximately twice the inflationary rate. The causes of this phenomenon are complex. By making physicians and other health care providers with hospital a…

"Cost-effective care" and "long-term care services," where used in RCW 70.41.310 and 70.41.320, shall have the same meaning as that given in *RCW 74.39A.008.[ 1995 1st sp.s. c 18 s 4.]Notes:*Reviser's note: RCW 74.39A.008 was repealed by 1997 c 392 s 530.Conflict with federal req…

(1)(a) The department of social and health services, in consultation with hospitals and acute care facilities, shall promote the most appropriate and cost-effective use of long-term care services by developing and distributing to hospitals and other appropriate health care settin…

(1) Hospitals and acute care facilities shall:(a) Work cooperatively with the department of social and health services, area agencies on aging, and local long-term care information and assistance organizations in the planning and implementation of patient discharges to long-term …

(1) In addition to the requirements in RCW 70.41.320, hospital discharge policies must ensure that the discharge plan is appropriate for the patient's physical condition, emotional and social needs, and, if a lay caregiver is designated takes into consideration, to the extent pos…

RCW 70.41.322 does not require a hospital to adopt discharge policies or criteria that:(1) Delay a patient's discharge or transfer to another facility or to home; or(2) Require the disclosure of protected health information to a lay caregiver without obtaining a patient's consent…

Nothing in RCW 70.41.322 may be construed to:(1) Interfere with the rights or duties of an agent operating under a valid health care directive under RCW 70.122.030;(2) Interfere with designations made by a patient pursuant to a physician order for life-sustaining treatment under …

Every hospital shall post in conspicuous locations a notice of the department's hospital complaint toll-free telephone number. The form of the notice shall be approved by the department.[ 2000 c 6 s 4.]

The department is authorized to adopt rules necessary to implement RCW 70.41.150, 70.41.155, and 70.41.330.[ 2000 c 6 s 6.]

(1) Every hospital providing emergency care to a victim of sexual assault shall:(a) Provide the victim with medically and factually accurate and unbiased written and oral information about emergency contraception;(b) Orally inform each victim of sexual assault of her option to be…

The department must respond to complaints of violations of RCW 70.41.350. The department shall convene a task force, composed of representatives from community sexual assault programs and other relevant stakeholders including advocacy agencies, medical agencies, and hospital asso…

Hospitals licensed under this chapter shall participate in the statewide sexual assault kit tracking system established in RCW 43.43.545 for the purpose of tracking the status of all sexual assault kits collected by or in the custody of hospitals and other entities contracting wi…

(1) By July 1, 2020, any hospital that does not provide sexual assault evidence kit collection, or does not have appropriate providers available to provide sexual assault evidence kit collection at all times, shall develop a plan, in consultation with the local community sexual a…

The department shall investigate complaints of violations of RCW 18.79.350 and 18.79.360 by an employer. The department shall maintain records of all employers that have violated RCW 18.79.350 and 18.79.360.[ 2003 c 258 s 8.]Notes:Severability—Effective date—2003 c 258: See notes…

Hospitals shall have in place policies to assure that, when appropriate, information about unanticipated outcomes is provided to patients or their families or any surrogate decision makers identified pursuant to RCW 7.70.065. Notifications of unanticipated outcomes under this sec…

(1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(a) "Lift team" means hospital employees specially trained to conduct patient lifts, transfers, and repositioning using lifting equipment when appropriate.(b) "Safe …

(1) Prior to or upon discharge, a hospital must furnish each patient receiving inpatient services a written statement providing a list of physician groups and other professional partners that commonly provide care for patients at the hospital and from whom the patient may receive…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this section, RCW 70.41.420, and 70.41.425 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Hospital" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70.41.020, and also includes state hospitals as defined in RCW 72.23.010.(2) "Hospital s…

(1) By January 1, 2024, each hospital shall establish a hospital staffing committee, either by creating a new committee or assigning the functions of the hospital staffing committee to an existing nurse staffing committee.(2) Hospital staffing committees must be comprised of:(a) …

(1)(a) The department shall investigate a complaint submitted under this section for violation of RCW 70.41.420 following receipt of a complaint with documented evidence of failure to:(i) Form or establish a hospital staffing committee;(ii) Conduct a semiannual review of a staffi…

By July 1, 2024, the department and the department of labor and industries must jointly establish a formal agreement that identifies the roles of each of the two agencies with respect to the oversight and enforcement of RCW 70.41.420 (4)(a) and (12) and 70.41.425 (1), (4), (5), (…

(1) Each hospital licensed under this chapter shall, by January 1, 2023, adopt a policy regarding prevention and control of the transmission of pathogens of epidemiological concern. The policy shall, at a minimum, contain the following elements:(a) A facility risk assessment to i…