SECTIONS 11840 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 11840

11840. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The current regulatory responsibility for medical services is
spread among many governmental entities including all of the
following:
(1) The Medical Board of California.
(2) The Department of Corporations.
(3) The State Department of Health Services.
(b) This overlapping jurisdiction has resulted in multiple and
duplicative audits of many physician offices, additional expense and
hiring of additional staff to respond to duplicate requests for
medical records, and the review of confidential medical records by a
growing number of governmental entities.
(c) In the interest of reducing the number of separate times
various public and private agencies review confidential medical
records, streamlining the regulatory process, and reducing the
redundant reviews of the offices of physicians, it is the intent of
the Legislature to coordinate, to the extent feasible, as many of
these regulatory functions as possible.
(d) In addition to government audits of physician offices,
numerous private entities also conduct reviews of physician offices.
(e) It is in the public interest to achieve ultimately a uniform
system of private and public auditing of physician offices and, thus,
streamline the process as much as possible.