The proposed pharmaceutical bill, which currently awaits the governor’s review following its approval by the state assembly on Aug. 18, would be called the California Outpatient Pharmacy Patient Safety and Improvement Act.
Under the bill (AB 1574), surgery centers that lack state a state license could receive a limited license from the state pharmacy board that would open the door to purchase pain drugs wholesale, according to the East Bay Business Times.
This bill became necessary after the California Department of Health interpreted the 2007 ruling in Capen v. Shewry to mean it would it would no longer have licensure jurisdiction over ASCs with physician ownership. Under its resulting policy, the department would no longer issue or renew surgical clinic licenses if the facility has any physician owners.
In this case, the court determined that because the surgical clinic (involved in the case) was “owned and operated by a single, licensed physician, the department (of health) had no authority to license the clinic under Code § 1200 et seq. The court instead determined that the California Medical Board, the agency charged with oversight of physicians, was also responsible for oversight of the physician-owned facility, under Code § 1248. The department has instituted, in light of this ruling, a policy whereby it will no longer issue or renew surgical clinic licenses if the surgical clinic has any physician owners, even though Capen dealt with a wholly physician-owned surgical clinic,” according to a story published on www.BeckersASC.com.
The pharmaceutical bill clears one hurdle, but the Capen case has left centers struggling with many other issues, including the challenge of payors’ resisting reimbursing unlicensed ASCs.
View the California Outpatient Pharmacy Patient Safety and Improvement Act.
Read the East Bay Business Times article on AB 1574.
Learn more about how wholly and partially physician-owned ASCs and non-physician-owned ASCs were likely to be treated in the aftermath of the Capen v. Shewry case.
