(a) Commencing July 1993, and annually thereafter, the department shall publish risk-adjusted outcome reports in accordance with the following schedule:

Reports for subsequent years shall include conditions and procedures and cover periods as appropriate.

(b) The procedures and conditions for risk-adjusted outcome reports pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be divided among medical, surgical, and obstetric conditions or procedures and shall be selected by the department. The department shall publish the risk-adjusted outcome reports for selected conditions and procedures by individual hospital, individual medical group, or individual physician as selected by the department in consultation with medical specialists in the relevant area of practice. The selections, under this subdivision, shall be in accordance with all of the following criteria:

(1) The patient discharge abstract contains sufficient data to undertake a valid risk adjustment. The risk adjustment report shall ensure that public hospitals and other hospitals serving primarily low-income patients are not unfairly discriminated against.

(2) The relative importance of the procedure and condition in terms of the cost of cases and the number of cases and the seriousness of the health consequences of the procedure or condition.

(3) Ability to measure outcome and the likelihood that care influences outcome.

(4) Reliability of the diagnostic and procedure data.

(c) (1) In addition to any other established and pending reports, on or before July 1, 2002, the department shall publish a risk-adjusted outcome report for coronary artery bypass graft surgery by hospital for all hospitals opting to participate in the report. This report shall be updated on or before July 1, 2003.

(2) The department shall publish at least one risk-adjusted outcome report for coronary artery bypass graft surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or any type of interventional cardiovascular procedure for procedures performed in the state. For any type of interventional cardiovascular procedure other than coronary artery bypass graft surgery or transcatheter aortic valve replacement, the department shall only select from interventional cardiovascular procedures recommended by the clinical panel established by Section 128748, not to exceed one additional interventional cardiovascular procedure every three years. In each year, the reports shall compare risk-adjusted outcomes by hospital, medical group, or physician as selected by the department after consultation with the clinical panel. Upon the recommendation of the clinical panel based on statistical and technical considerations, information on individual hospitals, individual medical groups, or individual physicians may be excluded from the reports.

(3) Each hospital shall produce and file with the department, at the times as the department shall require, reports of data the department needs to prepare risk-adjusted outcome reports under this subdivision. Unless otherwise recommended by the clinical panel established by Section 128748, the department shall continue to collect the same data used for the most recent risk-adjusted model developed for the California Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Outcomes Reporting Program. Upon recommendation of the clinical panel, the department may add any clinical data elements included in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ database or other relevant databases to be collected from hospitals. Prior to any additions from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ database, or other relevant databases, the following factors shall be considered:

(A) Utilization of sampling to the maximum extent possible.

(B) Exchange of data elements as opposed to addition of data elements.

(4) Upon recommendation of the clinical panel, the department may add, delete, or revise clinical data elements to be collected from hospitals for outcome reports under this subdivision. Prior to any additions or deletions, all of the following factors shall be considered:

(A) Utilization of sampling to the maximum extent possible.

(B) Feasibility of collecting data elements.

(C) Costs and benefits of collection and submission of data.

(D) Exchange of data elements as opposed to addition of data elements.

(5) The department shall collect the minimum data necessary for purposes of testing or validating a risk-adjusted model for the outcome reports under this subdivision.

(6) Patient medical record numbers and any other data elements that the department believes could be used to determine the identity of an individual patient shall be exempt from the disclosure requirements of the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(d) The annual reports shall compare the risk-adjusted outcomes experienced by all patients treated for the selected conditions and procedures in each California hospital during the period covered by each report, to the outcomes expected. Outcomes shall be reported in at least the following groupings for each hospital, medical group, or physician:

(1) “Higher than average outcomes,” for hospitals with risk-adjusted outcomes higher than the norm.

(2) “Average outcomes,” for hospitals with average risk-adjusted outcomes.

(3) “Lower than average outcomes,” for hospitals with risk-adjusted outcomes lower than the norm.

(e) For outcome reports under this subdivision for which auditing is appropriate, the department shall conduct periodic auditing of data at hospitals.

(f) The department shall either include in the annual reports required under this section, or make separately available at cost to any person requesting it, risk-adjusted outcomes data assessing the statistical significance of hospital, medical group, or physician data at each of the following three levels: 99-percent confidence level (0.01 p-value), 95-percent confidence level (0.05 p-value), and 90-percent confidence level (0.10 p-value). The department shall include any other analysis or comparisons of the data in the annual reports required under this section that the department deems appropriate to further the purposes of this chapter.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 28, Sec. 112. (SB 1380) Effective January 1, 2023.)