Medical staff: health care provider credentialing.

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs and charges it with administrative and enforcement duties related to the provision of medical services under the act. The act makes unprofessional conduct subject to discipline by the board the regular practice of medicine in a specified hospital having 5 or more physicians and surgeons on the medical staff without rules established by the board of directors to govern the operation of the hospital. The act requires the rules to include a provision for the organization of physicians and surgeons into a formal medical staff with staff appointments on an annual or biennial basis. This bill would revise that provision to instead require staff reappointments at least every 3 years. Existing law requires that physician and surgeon staff require members of the staff to demonstrate their ability to perform surgical and other procedures competently and to the satisfaction of an appropriate committee or committees of the staff at the time of original application for appointment to the staff and at least every 2 years thereafter. This bill would instead require physician and surgeon staff to require members of the staff to demonstrate their ability at least every 3 years thereafter. Existing law provides for the licensure and inspection of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals and acute psychiatric hospitals, by the State Department of Public Health and makes a violation of those provisions a crime. This bill would require the governing body of a general acute care hospital or an acute psychiatric hospital to require that medical staff establish controls that are designed to ensure the achievement and maintenance of high standards of professional ethical practices, including a requirement that all members of the medical staff be required to demonstrate their ability to perform surgical or other procedures competently and to the