(a) All hospitals shall maintain records of each transfer made or received, including the âMemorandum of Transferâ described in subdivision (f) of Section 1317.2, for a period of three years. (b) All hospitals making or receiving transfers shall file with the state department annual reports on forms prescribed by the department which shall describe the aggregate number of transfers made and received according to the personâs insurance status and reasons for transfers. (c) The receiving hospital, and all physicians, other licensed emergency room health personnel, and certified prehospital emergency personnel at the receiving hospital who know of apparent violations of this article or the regulations adopted hereunder shall, and the corresponding personnel at the transferring hospital and the transferring hospital may, report the apparent violations to the state department on a form prescribed by the state department within one week following its occurrence. The state department shall promptly send a copy of the form to the hospital administrator and appropriate medical staff committee of the transferring hospital and the local emergency medical services agency, unless the state department concludes that the complaint does not allege facts requiring further investigation, or is otherwise unmeritorious, or the state department concludes, based upon the circumstances of the case, that its investigation of the allegations would be impeded by disclosure of the form. When two or more persons required to report jointly have knowledge of an apparent violation, a single report may be made by a member of the team selected by mutual agreement in accordance with hospital protocols. Any individual, required to report by this section, who disagrees with the proposed joint report has a right and duty to separately report. A failure to report under this subdivision shall not constitute a violation within the meaning of Section 1290 or 1317.6. (d) No hospital, government agency, or person shall retaliate against, penalize, institute a civil action against, or recover monetary relief from, or otherwise cause any injury to a physician or other personnel for reporting in good faith an apparent violation of this article or the regulations adopted hereunder to the state department, hospital, medical staff, or any other interested party or government agency. (e) No hospital, government agency, or person shall retaliate against, penalize, institute a civil action against, or recover monetary relief from, or otherwise cause any injury to a physician who refused to transfer a patient when the physician determines, within reasonable medical probability, that the transfer or delay caused by the transfer will create a medical hazard to the person. (f) Any person who violates subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 1317.4 is subject to a civil money penalty of no more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation. The remedy specified in this section shall be in addition to any other remedy provided by law. (g) The state department shall on an annual basis publish and provide to the Legislature a statistical summary by county on the extent of economic transfers of emergency patients, the frequency of medically hazardous transfers, the insurance status of the patient populations being transferred and all violations finally determined by the state department describing the nature of the violations, hospitals involved, and the action taken by the state department in response. These summaries shall not reveal the identity of individual persons transferred. (h) Proceedings by the state department to impose a fine under Section 1317.3 or 1317.6, and proceedings by the board to impose a fine under Section 1317.6, shall be conducted as follows: (1) If a hospital desires to contest a proposed fine, the hospital shall within 15 business days after service of the notice of proposed fine notify the director in writing of its intention to contest the proposed fine.
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