(a) Except as may otherwise be provided in this section, before the Division of Medical Quality may seek an injunction as provided under Section 1248.7, the Division of Medical Quality shall notify the outpatient setting of all deficiencies in its compliance with this chapter, and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter, and the Division of Medical Quality and the outpatient setting shall reach an agreement upon a plan of correction that shall give the outpatient setting reasonable time to correct the deficiencies. The Division of Medical Quality shall also inform the outpatient setting that failure to reach an agreement or to correct deficiencies may lead to corrective action by the Division of Medical Quality, which may include imposition of fines under Section 1248.8. If at the end of the allotted time the division and the outpatient setting have failed to reach an agreement or the outpatient setting has failed to correct the deficiencies, as revealed by inspection, the Division of Medical Quality may take corrective action to include, as appropriate, seeking an injunction under Section 1248.7, revoking or requesting that the accreditation agency revoke accreditation, or communicating with any agency that has oversight authority over the outpatient setting, such as the Department of Health Services or other appropriate licensing authority, to request that the agency take corrective action against the outpatient setting.
(b) For purposes of this section, and at the sole discretion of the Division of Medical Quality, any notifications, inspections, and corrective action plans of the Division of Medical Quality relating to outpatient settings that have been accredited by an accreditation agency may be performed or coordinated by the accreditation agency rather than by the Division of Medical Quality.
(c) If the Division of Medical Quality determines that an outpatient setting poses an immediate and substantial hazard to the health or safety of the patient, that may not reasonably be corrected through a plan of correction, the Division of Medical Quality may immediately institute injunction proceedings pursuant to Section 1248.7.
(Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1276, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1995.)