Weiss Zarett Brofman | Sonnenklar & Levy, P.C. | Attorneys At Law

High Quality Services And Personal Attention

DOH Takes Action to Tighten Regulations of Urgent Care Centers and Other Ambulatory Care Facilities

On Behalf of | Jan 14, 2014 | Healthcare Law

The Department of Health Takes Action to Tighten Regulations of Urgent Care Centers and Other Ambulatory Care Facilities

The New York State Department of Health’s Public Health and Health Planning Council (“PHHPC”) has issued new recommendations addressing legal and regulatory changes for a variety of ambulatory care facilities, including urgent care centers, office-based surgery providers, freestanding emergency departments, and a new category of facility to be known as a limited services clinic. While these proposals are not yet law, healthcare providers should be mindful of the potential changes to existing ambulatory care models.

While ambulatory care is not a new concept, there has been an increase in the past decade in the scope of ambulatory care services being provided, as well as a more recent evolution in how ambulatory care services are provided to patients, especially in New York State.  The PHHPC is now taking steps to further regulate the growing number of ambulatory care facilities in New York and their operations.  In addition to heightened reporting and accreditation requirements, the proposals, according to the PHHPC, are aimed at encouraging primary care, while also restricting the universe of services that may be offered by ambulatory care providers.  Below is a brief summary of some of the new proposals.

Urgent Care Centers

Under the new proposals, urgent care centers would be required to alter their names to include the term “Urgent Care,” and the use of the term “Urgent Care” would be restricted to practices and facilities providing urgent care services specifically defined and approved by the Department of Health. The recommendations, however, do not identify the specific scope of services that the Department of Health will ultimately consider to be “urgent care services.”

New health care facilities (other than physician practices) proposing to provide urgent care services would be required to first obtain Certificate of Need approval from the Department of Health for such services.

Physician practices operating urgent care centers would be required to obtain accreditation from an organization approved by the Department of Health.  This is similar to the manner in which the Department of Health, several years ago, began regulating physician practices providing office-based surgery procedures.

Office-Based Surgery Providers

The new proposals would further regulate the provision of office-based surgery services in New York State.  Specifically, the PHHPC is proposing to require the registration of all new and existing office-based surgery and office-based anesthesia practices with the Department of Health.  Practices would be required to submit procedure and quality data as required by the Department of Health. The proposals would also create a definition for office-based anesthesia, and broaden the scope of procedures covered by the office-based surgery requirements (such as, for example, procedures involving neuraxial and major upper and lower extremity regional nerve blocks).  Expected procedural time through discharge would be limited to six hours.

The proposals would broaden the scope of physician practices covered by the office-based surgery accreditation requirements, as well as the scope of reportable adverse events.

The proposals would also impose new assessment, reporting, survey and investigation obligations on the accrediting organizations approved by the Department of Health.

Freestanding Emergency Departments

The PHHPC’s recommendations for freestanding emergency departments (“FED”) seem geared towards moving closer to the Centers for Medicare & M

Archives

Categories