Quality of Care Requirements for Shared Health Facilities – N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 4710

Shared health facilities must take the following actions in order “to ensure quality, continuity and proper coordination of medical care:”

• Create a mechanism to ensure that patients are appropriately scheduled for follow up services with a practitioner that has knowledge of their medical history.
• Post provider names and office hours in visible places around the facility. 
• Keep patient records that contain (1) the patient’s name, address, and program number; (2) appointment dates; (3) the patient’s complaint upon seeking services in the facility; (4) the “pertinent history and all physical examinations rendered by each provider;” (5) diagnostic impressions; (6) prescribed medications, including the dose and regimen; (7) x-ray, lab, and electrocardiogram orders and results; (8) referrals; and (9) whether a follow-up is necessary and the dates of follow-up appointments. 
• Assign each patient with a single practitioner. Patient’s may change practitioners at any time. 
• Keep a “central day-book registry” that contains patient names and complaints.
• Ensure that patient exams, interviews, and treatments occur with “maximum privacy.” 
• “Designate” a person to “coordinate and manage the facility’s activities” and ensure compliance with the aforementioned action.

Facility administrators must ensure that providers within the facility have immediate access to patient records. The department may inspect various records maintained by the facility including patient records, business records, and contracts.