(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that an accreditation agency operating on or before January 1, 1995, or a successor thereof, or an accreditation agency thereafter operating as part of a joint program granted temporary certification as an accreditation agency by the division, whether operating as part of a joint program or independently, and meeting the standards set forth in this chapter, as determined by the division, not be required to go through the entire application process with the division. Therefore, the division may grant a temporary certificate of approval to such an accreditation agency. The temporary approval issued to an accreditation agency under this subdivision shall expire on January 1, 1998. In order to continue its status as an accreditation agency, an accreditation agency approved by the division under this subdivision shall apply for renewal of approval by the division on or before January 1, 1998, and shall establish that it is in compliance with the standards set forth in this chapter and any regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(b)  Each accreditation agency approved by the division shall, on and after January 1, 1995, promptly forward to the division a list of each outpatient setting to which it has granted a certificate of accreditation, as well as settings that have lost accreditation or were denied accreditation.

(c)  The division shall approve an accreditation agency that applies for approval on a form prescribed by the division, accompanied by payment of the fee prescribed by this chapter and evidence that the accreditation agency meets the following criteria:

(1)  Includes within its accreditation program, at a minimum, the standards for accreditation of outpatient settings approved by the division as well as standards for patient care and safety at the setting.

(2)  Submits its current accreditation standards to the division every three years, or upon request for continuing approval by the division.

(3)  Maintains internal quality management programs to ensure quality of the accreditation process.

(4)  Has a process by which accreditation standards can be reviewed and revised no less than every three years.

(5)  Maintains an available pool of allied health care practitioners to serve on accreditation review teams as appropriate.

(6)  Has accreditation review teams that shall do all of the following:

(A)  Consist of at least one physician and surgeon who practices in an outpatient setting; any other members shall be practicing actively in these settings.

(B)  Participate in formal educational training programs provided by the accreditation agency in evaluation of the certification standards at least every three years.

(7)  The accreditation agency shall demonstrate that professional members of its review team have experience in conducting review activities of freestanding outpatient settings.

(8)  Standards for accreditation shall be developed with the input of the medical community and the ambulatory surgery industry.

(9)  Accreditation reviewers shall be credentialed and screened by the accreditation agency.

(10)  The accreditation agency shall not have an ownership interest in nor be involved in the operation of a freestanding outpatient setting, nor in the delivery of health care services to patients.

(d)  Accreditation agencies approved by the division shall forward to the division copies of all certificates of accreditation and shall notify the division promptly whenever the agency denies or revokes a certificate of accreditation.

(e)  A certification of an accreditation agency by the division shall expire at midnight on the last day of a three-year term if not renewed. The division shall establish by regulation the procedure for renewal. To renew an unexpired approval, the accreditation agency shall, on or before the date upon which the certification would otherwise expire, apply for renewal on a form, and pay the renewal fee, as prescribed by the division.

(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 769, Sec. 1. Effective October 8, 1997.)