(a) (1) The director shall, in addition to any other remedy, issue an order that prohibits a narcotic treatment program from admitting new patients or from providing patients with take-home dosages of a narcotic drug if the director determines, pursuant to the compliance inspection procedures set out in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 11839.3, that a program has done any of the following:
(A) Failed to provide adequate security measures over its narcotic drug supply as agreed in the program’s approved protocol.
(B) Failed to maintain a narcotic drug reconciliation system that accounts for all incoming and outgoing narcotic drugs.
(C) Diverted narcotic drugs.
(D) Repeatedly violated one or more departmental or federal regulations governing narcotic treatment programs, which violations may subject, or may have subjected, a patient to a health or life-endangering situation.
(E) Repeatedly violated one or more departmental or federal regulations governing the provisions of take-home medication.
(F) Operated above combined licensed capacity for maintenance and detoxification programs at a single location.
(2) (A) The order becomes effective when the department serves the program with a copy of the order. The order shall state the deficiencies forming the basis for the order and shall state the corrective action required for the department to vacate the order. The order, as it pertains to subparagraph (F) only, shall automatically be vacated when the department receives the program’s written notification that licensed capacity has been achieved. If the order is issued pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E), the department shall vacate the order when the program submits a corrective action plan that reasonably addresses the deficiency or substantially conforms to the required action set out in the order.
(B) The department shall notify the program that the corrective action plan is accepted or rejected within 10 working days after receipt of the plan. If the department rejects the corrective action plan, it shall detail its reason in writing. The department order is vacated when the department either accepts a corrective action plan and ensures substantial conformity with the required action set out in the order or fails to reject a plan within 10 working days after receipt of the plan.
(3) In addition to any other remedies, a failure of the program to comply with the order of the department under this subdivision shall give rise to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) a day for each day that the order is violated.
(4) All civil penalties collected by the department under paragraph (3) shall be deposited in the Narcotic Treatment Program Licensing Trust Fund, and shall be used to offset the department’s costs associated with collecting the civil penalties, or associated with any civil, administrative, or criminal action against the program when appropriated for this purpose.
(b) (1) The director may, in addition to any other remedy, issue an order temporarily suspending a narcotic treatment program license prior to any administrative hearing for the reasons stated in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) when the department determines pursuant to the compliance inspection procedures set out in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 11839.3, that the action is necessary to protect patients of the program from any substantial threat to their health or safety, or to protect the health or safety of the local community or the people of the State of California. Prior to issuing the order, the director shall ensure continuity of patient care by the program’s guarantor or through the transfer of patients to other licensed programs. The director may issue any needed license or amend any other license in his or her effort to assure that patient care is not impacted adversely by the suspension order.
(2) The director shall notify the licensee of the temporary suspension and the effective date thereof and at the same time shall serve the licensee with an accusation. Upon receipt of a notice of defense to the accusation by the licensee, the director shall, within 15 days, set the matter for hearing, and the hearing shall be held as soon as possible, but not later than 20 days, exclusive of weekends, after receipt of the notice. The temporary suspension shall remain in effect until the hearing is completed and the director has made a final determination on the merits. However, the temporary suspension shall be deemed vacated if the director fails to make a final determination on the merits within 20 days after the original hearing has been completed. Failure to cease operating after the department issues an order temporarily suspending the license shall constitute an additional ground for license revocation and shall constitute a violation of Section 11839.8. The department shall suspend the program’s license if the hearing outcome is adverse to the license. The department shall notify the program of the license suspension within five days of the director’s final decision.
(c) A program may, at any time after it is served with an order, petition the superior court to review the department’s issuance of an order or rejection of a corrective action plan.
(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 862, Sec. 114. Effective January 1, 2005.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018