Arizona 2022 2022 Regular Session

Arizona House Bill HB2450 Comm Sub / Analysis

Filed 02/09/2022

                      	HB 2450 
Initials AG 	Page 1 	Caucus & COW 
 
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Fifty-fifth Legislature 
Second Regular Session 
House: HHS DP 6-2-1-0 
 
HB 2450: outpatient treatment centers; licensure; exemption 
Sponsor: Representative Osborne, LD 13 
Caucus & COW 
Overview 
Defines an exempt outpatient treatment center (OTC) and outlines requirements.  
History 
A collaborating OTC means a licensed OTC that has a written agreement with one or more OTC's, 
exempt health care providers or licensed counseling facilities that requires the collaborating OTC 
to be liable and responsible pursuant to written policies for all common areas that one or more 
colocators use. A colocator is an exempt provider or a governing authority operating as an 
outpatient treatment center or a licensed counseling facility that is authorized to share common 
areas and nontreatment personnel with another colocator (A.R.S. § 36-439).  
One or more OTC licensees providing medical, nursing and health-related services may colocate 
or colocate with one or more licenses that provide those services or licensed counseling facilities. 
They may also share common areas at the collaborating OTC premises and share nontreatment 
personnel (A.R.S. § 36-439.01). 
Colocators at collaborating OTCs are required to: 1) designate which OTC will be the collaborating 
OTC and be liable and responsible for the health, safety, cleanliness and maintenance of all 
common areas and the supervision and training of all shared nontreatment personnel pursuant to 
written policies of the collaborating outpatient treatment center; 2) designate which areas are 
considered common areas and which personnel are designated as shared nontreatment personnel; 
3) designate the associated licensed providers; and 4) ensure that medical records that are located in 
common areas or shared by colocators are maintained pursuant to all federal and state confidentiality 
laws. A colocator may have access to a patient's medical records only if the patient has consented 
(A.R.S. § 36-439.02). 
Provisions 
Exempt OTC Requirements 
1. Allows a clinical nurse specialist to prescribe or dispense pharmacological agents for patients 
in an OTC that is exempt from licensure. (Sec. 1) 
2. Exempts an OTC that has the same governing authority as a licensed hospital and that is 
staffed by licensed health care providers from licensure, supervision, regulation or control of 
the Department of Health Services (DHS) unless: 
a) Patients are kept overnight in the OTC or are treated under general anesthesia, except 
when the treatment by general anesthesia is regulated under the dentistry statutes; 
b) The OTC is an abortion clinic; or 
c) The OTC is a pain management clinic. (Sec. 3) 
3. Requires a person wishing to begin operating an OTC to submit certain information to DHS 
before a licensing inspection is completed except if it is an exempt OTC. (Sec. 4)  
☐ Prop 105 (45 votes)     ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes)      ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note    	HB 2450 
Initials AG 	Page 2 	Caucus & COW 
4. Specifies that, notwithstanding any other provisions, one or more licensed OTC's or exempt 
OTC's that provide specified health-related services may colocate or colocate with one or 
more licensees, exempt OTC's or licensed counseling facilities and share common areas at 
the collaborating OTC premises and nontreatment personnel. (Sec. 6) 
5. Allows the governing authority of a collaborating exempt OTC, by agreement, to share 
nontreatment personnel with one or more exempt health care providers or licensed counseling 
facilities. (Sec. 7) 
6. Allows treatment areas that are licensed under an OTC to be used by an exempt OTC.       
(Sec. 7) 
7. Allows a licensed or exempt OTC to contract with or employ an exempt health care provider 
to provide health care services to the patients of the licensed or exempt OTC. (Sec. 7) 
8. Includes exempt OTC's in the list of circumstances they may provide behavioral health 
services at a private office or clinic that is operated by an exempt health care provider.         
(Sec. 8) 
9. Requires an exempt OTC to report to DHS of any unexpected death, self-injury or other 
injuries of a patient under their employees care. (Sec. 8) 
10. Allows unlicensed employees of an exempt OTC to provide services at the private office or 
clinic of the exempt health care professional only when a licensed health care professional 
employed by the licensed or exempt OTC is on-site. (Sec. 8)  
Miscellaneous  
11. Specifies that patients of private offices and clinics of health care providers that are kept 
overnight as bed patients or treated under general anesthesia are subject to licensure, 
supervision, regulation or control of the Director of DHS. (Sec. 3) 
12. Removes the amount of designated satellite facilities that are located farther than one-half 
mile from the main hospital building that can be included on a single group license issued by 
DHS at the request of an applicant or licensee. (Sec. 4) 
13. Removes the amount of designated satellite facilities that are located farther than 35 miles 
from the main hospital building that can be included on a single group license issued by DHS, 
at the request of an applicant or licensee. (Sec. 4) 
14. Defines terms. (Sec. 2, 5) 
15. Modifies the definitions of associated licensed provider, collaborating OTC and colocator to 
include an exempt OTC. (Sec. 5) 
16. Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7)