Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a periodic license inspection shall not be conducted by the state Department of Health and Human Resources for a hospital if the hospital has applied for and received an exemption from that requirement: Provided, That no exemption granted diminishes the right of the state Department of Health and Human Resources to conduct complaint inspections: Provided, however, That no exemption granted relieves a hospital from compliance with section six-a of this article.

The state Department of Health and Human Resources shall grant an exemption from a periodic license inspection during the year following accreditation if a hospital applies by submitting evidence of its accreditation by the joint commission on accreditation of health care organizations or the American osteopathic association and submits a complete copy of the commission's accreditation report.

If the accreditation of a hospital is for a period longer than one year, the state Department of Health and Human Resources may conduct at least one license inspection of the hospital after the first year of accreditation and before the accreditation has expired and may conduct additional license inspections if needed. Hospitals receiving a three-year accreditation shall conduct annual self-evaluations using the current year accreditation manual for hospitals (AMH) unless the state Department of Health and Human Resources informs the hospital that the hospital will be inspected by the state Department of Health and Human Resources. Hospitals are not required to conduct self-evaluations for any calendar year during which they are inspected by the state Department of Health and Human Resources. These self-evaluations shall be completed and placed on file in the hospital by the thirty-first day of March of each year. Hospitals shall make the results of the self-evaluation available to the state Department of Health and Human Resources if requested.

Accreditation reports filed with the state Department of Health and Human Resources shall be treated as confidential in accordance with section ten of this article.