What's happening
This bill requires periodic inspections and reports for diagnostic and treatment centers, with certain accredited facilities exempt from these requirements.
Why it matters
Mandates regular oversight of diagnostic and treatment centers. by requiring inspections at least every 39 months, which could improve patient safety and service quality by ensuring facilities maintain standards.
Creates transparency and accountability. through mandatory reporting of inspection results to state legislative bodies and the governor, making facility performance more visible to policymakers and possibly the public.
Allows local health departments to play a larger role. in oversight, potentially enabling more responsive and regionally tailored inspections, depending on commissioner regulations.
Exempts facilities accredited by the Joint Commission. from these requirements, recognizing external accreditation as sufficient and potentially reducing regulatory burden for high-performing centers.
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Who cares
Diagnostic and treatment centers authorized to provide ambulatory surgery
Centers without Joint Commission accreditation would face state inspections at least every 39 months and regulations setting cleanliness, hygiene and safety standards.
New York State Department of Health
The department would have to inspect covered centers, and its commissioner would have to issue regulations and report inspection results to the Assembly, Senate and governor every 39 months.
County and municipal health departments
The commissioner could authorize them by regulation to administer the inspection requirements within their jurisdictions.
Patients receiving ambulatory surgery at covered centers
The bill would require recurring inspections and cleanliness, hygiene and safety standards at facilities where they receive care.
Headline styles
Inspect Health Centers Regularly
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Print number 2984a
- Amend and recommit to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Inspect Health Clinics Regularly
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Nicole Malliotakis
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
S. 2984--A A. 2341--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
January 18, 2017
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. MALLIOTAKIS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to periodic diagnostic and treatment center inspection
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 2801 of the public health law is amended by adding a new subdivision 12 to read as follows:
12. "Diagnostic and treatment center" means any hospital as defined by subdivision one of this section operating as a diagnostic and treatment center authorized to provide ambulatory surgical services, including but not limited to diagnostic and treatment centers regulated by Part seven hundred fifty-five or Part seven hundred fifty-six of Title ten of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations.
§ 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2827 to read as follows:
§ 2827. Powers and duties of the commissioner. 1. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this article, including, but not limited to, regulations establishing standards for cleanliness, hygiene, and safety.
2. The department, under the direction of the commissioner, shall inspect each diagnostic and treatment center not less than every thirty-nine months. The commissioner may appoint and designate, from time to time, persons to make the inspections authorized by this article.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06035-02-7
S. 2984--A 2 A. 2341--A
3. The commissioner shall create a report every thirty-nine months indicating the results of all individual inspections and deliver a copy to the assembly, the senate, and the governor.
4. The commissioner may by regulation authorize any county or municipal department of health to administer this section within its jurisdiction.
5. Provisions of this section shall not apply to facilities accredited by the joint commission on accreditation of healthcare organizations.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to periodic diagnostic and treatment center inspection
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to establish a requirement for the Health Commissioner to inspect diagnostic and treatment centers once every two years, and submit a written report of the results of each inspection to the Assembly, Senate, and Governor.
Summary of provisions
Section one of this bill amends section 2801 of the Public Health Law by adding a new subdivision 12 to define the term "diagnostic and treatment center" to mean diagnostic and treatment centers that are authorized to perform ambulatory surgery, including but not limited to centers regulated by 10 NYCRR Part 755 or 756.
Section two of this bill amends the Public Health Law by adding a new section 2827 to require the Department of Health to inspect each diagnostic and treatment center located within the State not less than 39 months and produce a report every 39 months summarizing the prior year's inspection activity. The report must be delivered to the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Temporary President of the Senate, the Assembly Minority Leader, and the Senate Minority Leader.
Section three of this bill provides that this act shall take effect immediately.
Justification
Recent inquiries and Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests to the Department of Health regarding the frequency of inspections of health facilities have shown that the Department does not have this information readily available. It also has proven that some clinics that perform medical procedures in our state have gone over a decade without an inspection, an alarming fact that should be addressed legislatively. This legislation is a preliminary step in resolving this issue and was introduced to get a better understanding of the situation.
This measure would give the legislature a better understanding of the frequency of health inspections at facilities that perform surgeries and other medical facilities that do not already adhere to the inspection requirements. The report's information would help the legislature implement laws to better protect the residents of New York State and ensure that all health facilities are regularly licensed by the Department of Health are also regularly inspected.
Prior legislative history
2017: S2984 - Referred to Health/A.2341 - Referred to Health 2016: S.2128-B - Referred to Health/A.3048-B - Referred to Health 2015: S.2128-A - Referred to Health/A.3048-A - Referred to Health 2014: S.7726 - Referred to Health/A.9538 - Referred to Health
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.