Clinic licensing.

(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of clinics by the State Department of Public Health, including primary care clinics, as defined. Existing law authorizes a primary care clinic that meets identified requirements, including specified minimum construction standards of adequacy and safety for clinics, to add a physical plant under a consolidated license or an affiliate clinic license. This bill would exempt an additional physical plant under a consolidated license or an affiliate clinic license from the above-specified minimum construction standards if the physical plant was, prior to being acquired, an outpatient setting or a previously licensed primary care clinic that was actively seeing patients within the previous 18 months. (2) Existing law establishes the Community Clinics Advisory Committee, which is required to be comprised of at least 15 individuals who are employed by, or under contract to provide service to, a community clinic on a full-time basis, as specified. Existing law requires that committee members be appointed by the 3 statewide primary care clinic associations in California that represent the greatest number of community or free clinic sites. Existing law requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, in consultation with the Community Clinics Advisory Committee, to prescribe minimum construction standards of adequacy and safety for the physical plant of clinics, as specified. This bill would require the Community Clinics Advisory Committee to be empaneled on or before July 1, 2020. The bill would also require that the minimum construction standards of adequacy and safety prescribed for primary care clinics be developed in consideration of the unique and distinct needs of clinics in contrast to health facilities, as defined.