California Health and Safety Code 1272 – (a) If a general acute care hospital or an acute psychiatric …
(a) If a general acute care hospital or an acute psychiatric hospital submits a written application to the department‘s centralized applications unit, the department shall do both of the following:
(1) Complete its evaluation and approve or deny the application within 100 days of receiving it, including completing any activities pursuant to paragraph (2).
Terms Used In California Health and Safety Code 1272
- Acute psychiatric hospital: means a health facility having a duly constituted governing body with overall administrative and professional responsibility and an organized medical staff that provides 24-hour inpatient care for persons with mental health disorders or other patients referred to in Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000) or Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, including the following basic services: medical, nursing, rehabilitative, pharmacy, and dietary services. See California Health and Safety Code 1250
- department: means State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 20
- general acute care hospital: includes a "rural general acute care hospital. See California Health and Safety Code 1250
(2) Once the written application is approved, the district office of the department shall, within 30 business days from the date of approval, complete any additional review, including an onsite visit, if applicable, and submit its findings to the department. If the hospital’s application is approved, the department shall add it to the hospital’s license and issue a new or revised license on the 31st business day following approval of the written application.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if a general acute care hospital or an acute psychiatric hospital submits a written application to expand a service that it currently provides and that is currently approved by the department, the department shall, within 30 business days of receipt of the completed application, approve the expansion, add it to the hospital license, and issue a revised license, unless the hospital is out of compliance with existing laws governing the service to be expanded. A service approved pursuant to this subdivision shall remain licensed for not more than 18 months, unless the department approves the license for a longer period. The department shall not be required to conduct an onsite inspection of the service to approve the expansion. This subdivision does not preclude the department from conducting an onsite inspection of a hospital at any time or denying an application in accordance with this subdivision.
(c) A general acute care hospital or an acute psychiatric hospital that receives a license to modify, add, or expand a service or program pursuant to this section shall comply with all laws related to that service or program.
(d) The department shall develop a centralized applications advice program to assist hospitals in identifying and completing the correct paperwork and other requirements necessary to modify, add, or expand a service or program.
(e) On or before December 31, 2019, the department shall develop an automated application system to process applications submitted pursuant to this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 38, Sec. 13. (SB 78) Effective June 27, 2019.)