Legislation (SB 100) authored by Senator Curren D. Price, Jr. that will provide greater oversight and strengthen regulation of fertility clinics and surgical clinics where cosmetic surgeries are performed, cleared the Senate by a vote of 37-0 on Wednesday, June 1. These surgical clinics have come under closer scrutiny since the 2007 death of Donda West, mother of musician Kanye West. The death of Ms. West, less than 24 hours after she had undergone several surgeries in a surgical clinic, revealed the lack of oversight of these clinics, many of which do not have specific requirements dealing with pre- and post-operative procedures.
SB 100 will require an accrediting agency to immediately inspect an outpatient setting upon receipt of a complaint from the Board that a setting poses a risk to patient safety, and report the results of the inspection immediately to the Board. It will also require the accrediting agency to make an immediate determination as to whether a clinic should continue to operate with a corrective plan in place or whether to suspend or revoke
accreditation. Additionally, this bill requires the Board or the local district attorney to seek the closure of the facility if it continues to operate without accreditation. Currently the Board can only take action against the physician’s license and cannot close down a clinic if problems exist.
“This is absurd,” said Senator Price. “We have got to find a way to shut down clinics when serious problems exist.”
SB 100 also establishes stronger standards for fertility clinics like the one that allowed so-called Octomom, Nadya Suleman, to become pregnant with octuplets in 2009. “This bill puts the public‟s safety first,” said Senator Curren Price, who chairs the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. “We have had too many deaths, too many injuries and too many medical malpractice cases to continue to allow these clinics to operate without stronger standards and swifter disciplinary measures.”
On June 2, the Medical Board of California ruled that the Beverly Hills fertility doctor who assisted Nadya Suleman in conceiving octuplets will have his license revoked, the Medical Board of California ruled Wednesday. The board found that Dr. Michael Kamrava had “committed acts of gross negligence and repeated negligent acts” in his care of Suleman and other patients. The revocation is scheduled to take effect July 1.
This bill will strengthen the regulation and oversight of fertility clinics, like the one operated by Dr. Kamrava by requiring the board to adopt standards it deems necessary.
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