In response to recent deaths of weight-loss surgery patients at outpatient surgical centers, Senator Price wrote a law that will regulate not only facilities that perform weight loss procedures, but fertility clinics as well. The law became effective in the state of California on January 1, 2012.
Frequent inspections are central to this legislation. Outpatient facilities will be inspected at least every three years by the accreditation agency and as needed by the Medical Board of California. An accredited facility can be inspected at any time, without notice by either the Medical Board or accreditation agency. If the facility is found to be out of compliance, the inspector has a range of sanctions available. He can demand that corrections are made and give a timeframe for doing so, issue a reprimand, institute a probationary period for the facility to come into compliance or revoke the accreditation. The accrediting agency must report any facility that is out of compliance and the steps taken to correct the deficiencies to the Medical Board of California. Accreditation agencies will be reviewed at least every three years.
Under the new law, a list of accredited outpatient facilities will be available to the public on the Medical Board of California's website. The board is actively working with the accrediting agencies to compile the listing. Once in place, the database will contain contact information for the facility and the owners, as well as the name of the agency that accredited the facility and the effective and expiration dates of the accreditation.
These newly enacted protocols aim to prevent tragedies in outpatient surgical centers by increased oversight. The facility database will give patients who are considering weight loss surgery access to the information they need to make an educated decision.