Hospitals: medical staff membership.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not explicitly state that non-compliance with the new rules is illegal, but rather implies that failure to comply could be considered unprofessional conduct and subject to disciplinary action by the Medical Board of California.

Hospitals: Medical Staff Membership

AB-1215 expands the requirements for hospital medical staff membership to include additional health care professionals and specifies new rules hospitals must follow.

What This Bill Does

• Expands the list of health care professionals that hospitals must include in their medical staff organization to include dentists, podiatrists, clinical psychologists, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and other health care professionals.
• Requires hospitals to have rules about membership for these new types of health care workers on their medical staffs.

Who It Names or Affects

• Hospitals with more than five doctors and surgeons on their medical staff
• Hospitals with fewer than five doctors and surgeons on their medical staff

Terms To Know

Medical Staff

The group of doctors, nurses, and other health care workers who work at a hospital.

Unprofessional Conduct

Actions by medical professionals that do not meet the expected standards of behavior or practice.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify which 'other health care professionals' are included.
• It is unclear how hospitals will be reimbursed for implementing these new requirements.

Official Summary Text

AB 1215, as introduced, Flora.
Hospitals: medical staff membership.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs and charges it with administrative and enforcement duties related to the provision of medical services under the act.
The act makes unprofessional conduct subject to discipline by the board the regular practice of medicine in a specified hospital having 5 or more physicians and surgeons on the medical staff without required provisions governing the operation of the hospital relating to records and to the organization, membership, and self-governance of the medical staff.
The act makes unprofessional conduct subject to discipline by the board the regular practice of medicine in a specified hospital having less than 5 physicians and surgeons on the medical staff without required
provisions governing the operation of the hospital relating to records and to the membership of the medical staff.
The act includes in the organization provisions licensed physicians and surgeons, as specified, and in the membership provisions physicians and surgeons, and other licensed practitioners, as specified.
A violation of the act, unless otherwise expressly provided, is a crime.
This bill would expand the required provisions related to organization to additionally include dentists, podiatrists, clinical psychologists, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and other health care professionals, as specified. The bill would expand the required provisions related to membership of medical staff to additionally include dentists, podiatrists, clinical psychologists, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives, as specified.
By expanding the required provisions, the lack thereof constituting unprofessional conduct, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, and would thereby impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF