(a) The department shall maintain a file of all the reports filed under this chapter at its Sacramento office. Subject to any rules the department may prescribe, these reports shall be produced and made available for inspection upon the demand of any person, and shall also be posted on its internet website with the exception of discharge and encounter data that shall be available for public inspection unless the department determines, pursuant to applicable law, that an individual patient’s rights of confidentiality would be violated.
(b) The reports published pursuant to Section 128745 shall include an executive summary, written in plain English to the maximum extent practicable, that shall include, but not be limited to, a discussion of findings, conclusions, and trends concerning the overall quality of medical outcomes, including a comparison to reports from prior years, for the procedure or condition studied by the report. The department shall disseminate the reports as widely as practical to interested parties, including, but not limited to, hospitals, providers, the media, purchasers of health care, consumer or patient advocacy groups, and individual consumers. The reports shall be posted on the department’s internet website.
(c) Copies certified by the department as being true and correct copies of reports properly filed with the department pursuant to this chapter, together with summaries, compilations, or supplementary reports prepared by the department, shall be introduced as evidence, where relevant, at any hearing, investigation, or other proceeding held, made, or taken by any state, county, or local governmental agency, board, or commission that participates as a purchaser of health facility services pursuant to the provisions of a publicly financed state or federal health care program. Each of these state, county, or local governmental agencies, boards, and commissions shall weigh and consider the reports made available to it pursuant to this subdivision in its formulation and implementation of policies, regulations, or procedures regarding reimbursement methods and rates in the administration of these publicly financed programs.
(d) The department shall compile and publish summaries of individual facility and aggregate data that do not contain patient-specific information for the purpose of public disclosure. Upon request, these shall include summaries of observation services data, in a format prescribed by the department. The summaries shall be posted on the department’s internet website. The department may initiate and conduct studies as it determines will advance the purposes of this chapter.
(e) In order to ensure that accurate and timely data are available to the public in useful formats, the department shall establish a public liaison function. The public liaison shall provide technical assistance to the general public on the uses and applications of individual and aggregate health facility data and shall provide the director with an annual report on changes that can be made to improve the public’s access to data.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 143, Sec. 211. (AB 133) Effective July 27, 2021.)