§ 4710 — Shared health facilities; quality of care requirements

§ 4710. Shared health facilities; quality of care requirements. 1. To\nensure quality, continuity and proper coordination of medical care, each\nshared health facility shall:\n (a) designate an individual who shall coordinate and manage the\nfacility's activities. The person so designated shall be responsible for\ncompliance with the provisions of this article;\n (b) devise an appropriate means of insuring that (i) patients will be\nscheduled to return for appropriate follow-up care and (ii) will be\ntreated by a practitioner familiar with the patient's medical history;\n (c) post conspicuously the names and scheduled office hours of all\npractitioners practicing in the facility;\n (d) maintain proper records which shall contain at least the following\ninformation:\n (i) the full name, address and program number of each patient;\n (ii) the dates of all visits to all providers in the shared health\nfacility;\n (iii) the chief complaint for each visit to each provider in the\nshared health facility;\n (iv) pertinent history and all physical examinations rendered by each\nprovider in the shared health facility;\n (v) diagnostic impressions for each visit to any provider in the\nshared health facility;\n (vi) all medications prescribed by any provider in the shared health\nfacility;\n (vii) the precise dosage and prescription regimens for each medication\nprescribed by a provider in the shared health facility;\n (viii) all x-ray, laboratory work and electrocardiograms ordered at\neach visit by any provider in the shared health facility, and their\nresults;\n (ix) all referrals by providers in the shared health facility to other\nmedical practitioners and the reason for such referrals; and\n (x) a statement as to whether or not the patient is expected to return\nfor further treatment and the dates of all return appointments;\n (e) assign an individual and clearly identified practitioner to all\npatients. This assignment may be changed at any time at the patient's\ndiscretion;\n (f) make available to registered patients either:\n (i) the central answering service telephone number of each patient's\ndesignated practitioner or such practitioner's personally designated\ncolleagues, or\n (ii) a centralized twenty-four-hour-a-day, seven-day-weekly telephone\nline for off-hour emergency patient questions;\n (g) maintain a central day-book registry which shall record:\n (i) the name and program number of all patients entering the facility;\nand\n (ii) the chief complaint and the names of all providers whose services\nwere requested by the patient and/or to whom such patient was referred;\nand\n (h) insure that the physical facilities of each shared health facility\nshall provide for maximum privacy for all patients during examination,\ninterview and treatment;\n (i) post conspicuously the telephone number of the agency within the\ndepartment of health which is responsible for providing information\nconcerning shared health facilities and/or for receiving complaints\nconcerning the provision of health care services at shared health\nfacilities.\n 2. It shall be the responsibility of each facility's administrator to\nensure that patient records and summaries of all patient visits\nincluding diagnosis and pharmaceuticals prescribed are at all times\navailable at either the facility or at a place immediately accessible to\nall health providers at the facility.\n 3. Nothing in this article shall in any way be interpreted as\ninfringing upon the patient's right to free selection of a personal\npractitioner.\n 4. The department shall have the right to inspect the business\nrecords, patient records, leases and other contracts executed by any\nprovider in a shared health facility. Such inspections may be by site\nvisits to the facility.\n