SECTION 310:667-27-1. Outpatient department

(a)   Organization. The outpatient department, if utilized, shall be organized into sections (clinics), the number of which depends upon the size and the degree of departmentalization of the medical staff, available facilities, and the needs of the patients for whom it accepts responsibility.

(1)   The outpatient department shall have appropriate cooperative arrangements and communications with community agencies, such as other outpatient departments, public health nursing agencies, the department of health, and welfare agencies.

(2)   Clinics shall be integrated with corresponding inpatient services.

(3)   Clinics shall be maintained for the following purposes:

(A)   Care of ambulatory patients unrelated to admission or discharge.

(B)   Study of pre-admission patients.

(C)   Follow-up of discharged hospital patients.

(4)   Patients, on their initial visit to the department, shall receive a general medical evaluation, and patients under continuous care shall receive an adequate periodic reevaluation.

(5)   Established medical screening procedures shall be employed routinely.

(b)   Personnel. There shall be such professional and nonprofessional personnel as are required for efficient operation.

(1)   A physician shall be responsible for the professional services of the department. Either this physician or a qualified administrator shall be responsible for administrative services.

(2)   A registered nurse shall be responsible for the nursing services of the department.

(3)   The number and type of other personnel employed shall be determined by the volume and type of work carried out and the type of patient served in the outpatient department.

(c)   Facilities. Facilities shall be provided to assure the efficient operation of the department.

(1)   The number of examination and treatment rooms shall be adequate in relation to the volume and nature of work performed.

(2)   Suitable facilities for necessary laboratory tests shall be available, either through the hospital or some other facility approved to provide these services under 42 CFR part 493 (CLIA '88).

(d)   Medical records. Medical records shall be maintained and correlated with other hospital medical records.

(1)   The outpatient medical record shall be filed in a location which insures ready accessibility to the physicians, licensed independent practitioners, nurses, and other personnel of the department.

(2)   The outpatient medical record shall be integrated with the patient's over-all hospital record.

(3)   Information contained in the medical record shall be complete and sufficiently detailed relative to the patient's history, physical examination, laboratory and other diagnostic tests, diagnosis, and treatment to facilitate continuity of care.

(e)   Liaison conferences. Conferences, both departmental and interdepartmental, shall be conducted to maintain close liaison between the various sections with the department and with other hospital services.

(1)   Minutes of staff and/or departmental meetings shall indicate that a review of selected outpatient cases takes place and that there is integration of hospital inpatient and outpatient services.

(2)   The outpatient department shall have close working relationships with the social work services.

(f)   Location. The outpatient department shall be located in the hospital facility or at a campus licensed as part of the hospital.

[Source: Added at 12 Ok Reg 1555, eff 4-12-95 (emergency); Added at 12 Ok Reg 2429, eff 6-26-95; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 1664, eff 6-12-03]