NAC449.370. Outpatient services.

     1. If a hospital provides outpatient services, the services must meet the needs of the patients in accordance with nationally recognized standards of practice.

     2. A hospital shall ensure that its outpatient unit is appropriately organized and integrated with inpatient services.

     3. A hospital which provides outpatient services shall:

     (a) Assign a person to be responsible for the outpatient unit;

     (b) Have sufficient numbers of professional and nonprofessional personnel available to provide the outpatient services; and

     (c) Ensure that nursing services provided in the outpatient unit are provided under the direction of a registered nurse.

     4. Equipment and supplies necessary to meet the anticipated needs of the outpatients must be readily available and in good working order.

     5. The outpatient unit shall have a sufficient number of examination and treatment rooms for the outpatient service based on the volume and nature of work performed.

     6. Laboratory, radiology and pharmaceutical services must be readily available to the outpatient unit.

     7. If outpatient surgery is performed in the outpatient unit, the basic facilities that must be available to perform the surgery include, without limitation:

     (a) A fully equipped and staffed operating room and postanesthesia recovery area;

     (b) Means of control against hazards of infection, electrical or mechanical fire, and explosion;

     (c) Sterile supplies that are readily available to meet the needs of the outpatients; and

     (d) Equipment and instrumentation for anesthesia and emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

     8. If beds are provided in an outpatient unit, the number of outpatient beds must not be included in the licensed bed capacity of the hospital. Inpatients may not occupy an outpatient bed. An outpatient shall not remain in an outpatient bed for more than 48 consecutive hours.

     [Bd. of Health, Health Facilities Reg. Part III Ch. I § XIII, eff. 10-9-69]—(NAC A by R050-99, 9-27-99)