California's ambulatory surgery centers will operate under stricter supervision after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a proposal to tighten the state's accreditation standards.
The legislation, sparked by the recent deaths of 5 Southern California patients following gastric banding surgery at outpatient clinics, as well as the 2007 death of Donde West following cosmetic surgery, requires facilities to stand for accreditation every 3 years, with the possibility of surprise inspections in the interim.
In addition, the law requires the state medical board to announce on its website facilities which have lost their accreditation or are on probation with accreditors. And facilities that are stripped of their accreditation for violating safety standards are barred from applying for accreditation through another agency, something that they've previously been able to do.
The law "brings oversight that's long overdue over these clinics," says co-sponsor state Sen. Curren Price Jr., a democrat from Los Angeles.
David Bernard
