California Imposes Fines Against 13 Hospitals for Patient Safety Violations
On Wednesday, the Department of Public Health announced a round of $25,000 fines against 13 California hospitals for serious patient safety violations, the Contra Costa Times reports (Kleffman, Contra Costa Times, 5/20).
The fines were levied for incidents that occurred in 2007 and 2008 (Perkes, Orange County Register, 5/20).
Under a 2007 state law, hospitals must notify state regulators of all significant patient injuries. State officials can then assess $25,000 penalties for each violation (Lin/Yoshino, Los Angeles Times, 5/21).
Kathleen Billingsley, deputy director of the department's Center for Health Care Quality, said hospitals that receive fines are required to submit plans to prevent future lapses.
Since the law went into place, the department has issued 89 penalties against 59 hospitals, resulting in $2 million in total fines.
For incidents that occur this year, fines will be doubled to $50,000 (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/21).
HealthLeaders Media lists each of the 13 hospitals that received fines and describes some of the violations (Clark, HealthLeaders Media, 5/20). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.