Columnist Stumps for Closing Loophole in Clinic Regulation
Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik argues that SB 100, by Sen. Curren Price Jr. (D-Inglewood), is necessary to "close the loopholes in the accreditation process" of physician-owned clinics. A court ruling in 2007 "stripped what is now the state Department of Public Health of its jurisdictions over clinics owned by doctors" and gave that responsibility to the Medical Board of California, Hiltzik writes. He adds, "That's a problem because the medical board has no expertise in inspecting or regulating surgical facilities." Hiltzik concludes, "The potential for a flood of deaths and injuries from poorly regulated outpatient clinics has loomed ever since the [court] decision. We stand now at the edge of the water. How bad does the crisis have to get before the Legislature finally acts?"
- "Trying To Fill a Hole in Medical Clinic Regulation" (Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5/8).