Outpatient Surgery Settings

California law prohibits physicians from performing some outpatient surgery, unless it is performed in a licensed or accredited setting.

Section 2216 of the Business and Professions Code (B&P) reads:

"On or after, July 1, 1996, no physician and surgeon shall perform procedures in an outpatient setting using anesthesia, except local anesthesia or peripheral nerve blocks, or both, complying with the community standard of practice, in doses that, when administered, have the probability of placing a patient at risk for loss of the patient's life-preserving protective reflexes, unless the setting is specified in Section 1248.1. Outpatient settings where anxiolytics and analgesics are administered are excluded when administered, in compliance with the community standard of practice,in doses that do not have the probability of placing the patient at risk for loss of the patient's life-preserving protective reflexes."

To find out if an outpatient surgery setting is accredited, see the agencies listed at the end of the page. Most offer an online search mechanism at the link provided below. To find out if an outpatient surgery setting is licensed by DHS, click HERE.

The law specifies certain outpatient surgery settings to be excluded from the accreditation requirement, such as ambulatory surgical centers certified to participate in the Medicare program under Title XVIII, health facilities licensed as general acute care hospitals, federally operated clinics, facilities on recognized tribal reservations, and facilities used by dentists or physicians in compliance with Article 2.7 or Article 2.8 of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of the B&P Code, as outlined in Health and Safety Code (H&S) Section 1248.1. A facility does not need to be accredited if it is one specified in that code section.

Amercian Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities Inc. (AAAASF)
5101 Washington Street, Suite 2F, Gurnee, IL 60031
Telephone #: (847) 775-1970
Fax #: (847) 775-1985
www.aaaasf.org

Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)
5200 Old Orchard Road, Suite 200, Skokie, IL 60077
Telephone #: (847) 853-6063 or (847) 853-6060
Fax #: (847) 853-9028
www.aaahc.org

The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Telephone #: (630) 792-5261
Fax #: (630) 792-5005
www.jointcommission.org

The Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ)
221 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone #: (415) 882-5165
Fax #: (415) 882-5149
www.imq.org

For further information concerning this law, or for assistance in determining accreditation or licensure of an outpatient surgery setting, please contact the Licensing Program of the Board at (916) 263-2382, or Webmaster@mbc.ca.gov.