Primary care clinics: written transfer agreements.

Existing regulations require primary care clinics to maintain a written transfer agreement with one or more nearby hospitals and other facilities as appropriate to meet medical emergencies. Existing law authorizes certain clinics to request that the State Department of Public Health waive this requirement. This bill would provide that a licensed primary care clinic is not required to enter into a written transfer agreement pursuant to those provisions as a condition of licensure, except as provided for a primary care clinic that provides services as an alternative birth center, as specified. The bill would require a primary care clinic, except as specified, to send with each patient at the time of transfer, or in the case of an emergency, as promptly as possible, copies of all medical records related to the patient's transfer, and would require the medical records to include, among other things, current medical findings and a brief summary of the course of treatment provided prior to the patient's transfer. The bill would require the department to repeal related regulations.