Cal. HSC § 1317.4 — California Code / Code hsc / Division 2 / Chapter 2 / Article 7 / Section 1317.4
Section 1317.4
Status: in_force

(a)  All hospitals shall maintain records of each transfer made or received, including the “Memorandum of Transfer” described in subdivision (f) of Section 1317.2, for a period of three years.

(b)  All hospitals making or receiving transfers shall file with the state department annual reports on forms prescribed by the department which shall describe the aggregate number of transfers made and received according to the person’s insurance status and reasons for transfers.

(c)  The receiving hospital, and all physicians, other licensed emergency room health personnel, and certified prehospital emergency personnel at the receiving hospital who know of apparent violations of this article or the regulations adopted hereunder shall, and the corresponding personnel at the transferring hospital and the transferring hospital may, report the apparent violations to the state department on a form prescribed by the state department within one week following its occurrence. The state department shall promptly send a copy of the form to the hospital administrator and appropriate medical staff committee of the transferring hospital and the local emergency medical services agency, unless the state department concludes that the complaint does not allege facts requiring further investigation, or is otherwise unmeritorious, or the state department concludes, based upon the circumstances of the case, that its investigation of the allegations would be impeded by disclosure of the form. When two or more persons required to report jointly have knowledge of an apparent violation, a single report may be made by a member of the team selected by mutual agreement in accordance with hospital protocols. Any individual, required to report by this section, who disagrees with the proposed joint report has a right and duty to separately report.

A failure to report under this subdivision shall not constitute a violation within the meaning of Section 1290 or 1317.6.

(d)  No hospital, government agency, or person shall retaliate against, penalize, institute a civil action against, or recover monetary relief from, or otherwise cause any injury to a physician or other personnel for reporting in good faith an apparent violation of this article or the regulations adopted hereunder to the state department, hospital, medical staff, or any other interested party or government agency.

(e)  No hospital, government agency, or person shall retaliate against, penalize, institute a civil action against, or recover monetary relief from, or otherwise cause any injury to a physician who refused to transfer a patient when the physician determines, within reasonable medical probability, that the transfer or delay caused by the transfer will create a medical hazard to the person.

(f)  Any person who violates subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 1317.4 is subject to a civil money penalty of no more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation. The remedy specified in this section shall be in addition to any other remedy provided by law.

(g)  The state department shall on an annual basis publish and provide to the Legislature a statistical summary by county on the extent of economic transfers of emergency patients, the frequency of medically hazardous transfers, the insurance status of the patient populations being transferred and all violations finally determined by the state department describing the nature of the violations, hospitals involved, and the action taken by the state department in response. These summaries shall not reveal the identity of individual persons transferred.

(h)  Proceedings by the state department to impose a fine under Section 1317.3 or 1317.6, and proceedings by the board to impose a fine under Section 1317.6, shall be conducted as follows:

(1)  If a hospital desires to contest a proposed fine, the hospital shall within 15 business days after service of the notice of proposed fine notify the director in writing of its intention to contest the proposed fine. If requested by the hospital, the director or the director’s designee, shall hold, within 30 business days, an informal conference, at the conclusion of which he or she may affirm, modify, or dismiss the proposed fine. If the director or the director’s designee affirms, modifies, or dismisses the proposed fine, he or she shall state with particularity in writing his or her reasons for that action, and shall immediately transmit a copy thereof to the hospital. If the hospital desires to contest a determination made after the informal conference, the hospital shall inform the director in writing within 15 business days after it receives the decision by the director or director’s designee. The hospital shall not be required to request an informal conference to contest a proposed fine, as specified in this section. If the hospital fails to notify the director in writing that it intends to protest the proposed fine within the times specified in this subdivision, the proposed fine shall be deemed a final order of the state department and shall not be subject to further administrative review.

(2)  If a hospital notifies the director that it intends to contest a proposed fine, the director shall immediately notify the Attorney General. Upon notification, the Attorney General shall promptly take all appropriate action to enforce the proposed fine in a court of competent jurisdiction for the county in which the hospital is located.

(3)  A judicial action to enforce a proposed fine shall be filed by the Attorney General after a hospital notifies the director of its intent to contest the proposed fine. If a judicial proceeding is prosecuted under the provisions of this section, the state department shall have the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged facts supporting the proposed fine occurred, that the alleged facts constituted a violation for which a fine may be assessed under Section 1317.3, 1317.4, or 1317.6, and the proposed fine is appropriate. The state department shall also have the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the assessment of the proposed fine should be upheld. If a hospital timely notifies the state department of its decision to contest a proposed fine, the fine shall not be due and payable unless and until the judicial proceeding is terminated in favor of the state department.

(4)  Action brought under the provisions of this section shall be set for trial at the earliest possible date and shall take precedence on the court calendar over all other cases except matters to which equal or superior precedence is specifically granted by law. Times for responsive pleading and for hearing any such proceeding shall be set by the judge of the court with the object of securing a decision as to subject matters at the earliest possible time.

(5)  If the proposed fine is dismissed or reduced, the state department shall take action immediately to ensure that the public records reflect in a prominent manner that the proposed fine was dismissed or reduced.

(6)  In lieu of a judicial proceeding, the state department and the hospital may jointly elect to submit the matter to binding arbitration, in which case, the department shall initiate arbitration proceedings. The parties shall agree upon an arbitrator designated by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with the Association’s established rules and procedures. The arbitration hearing shall be set within 45 days of the parties’ joint election, but in no event less than 28 days from the date of selection of an arbitrator. The arbitration hearing may be continued up to 15 days if necessary at the arbitrator’s discretion. The decision of arbitrator shall be based upon substantive law and shall be binding on all parties, subject to judicial review. This review shall be limited to whether there was substantial evidence to support the decision of the arbitrator.

(7)  Proceedings by the board to impose a fine under Section 1317.6 shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.