Long-term health care facilities: complaints: investigations.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of long-term health care facilities, as defined. Existing law establishes procedures to be followed when the department receives a written or oral complaint about a long-term health care facility. A complaint is defined to mean any notice to the department, other than a report from the facility, of an alleged violation of applicable requirements of state or federal law or any alleged facts that might constitute a violation. Existing law establishes the time period for which an investigation of a complaint is required to be completed, and authorizes an extension of that time period under extenuating circumstances. This bill would require the department to apply the existing time periods for the investigation, inspection, and issuance of a citation under these provisions to a report from the facility of an alleged violation of applicable requirements of state or federal law or any alleged facts that might constitute a violation of those requirements. The bill would also require the department to analyze its compliance with the time periods for investigations on a quarterly basis and post those findings on its Internet Web site.