TITLE 31 HEALTH

Section 11. Emergency Medical Services, 31-11-1 through 31-11-139.

ARTICLE 6 SYSTEM OF CERTIFIED STROKE CENTERS

31-11-113. Certification; application process; inspections.

1. A hospital identified as a comprehensive or primary stroke center shall be certified as such by a national health care accreditation body recognized by the department. Any hospital wishing to receive official identification under this subsection shall submit a written application to the department, providing adequate documentation of the hospital's valid certification as a comprehensive or primary stroke center by any such national health care accreditation body.
2. Remote treatment stroke centers shall be certified and identified by the department either by certification as an acute stroke-ready hospital by a national health care accreditation body recognized by the department or through an application process to be determined by the department. Said application process shall contain, at minimum, the following requirements:
   1. Remote treatment stroke center certifications and identifications by the department are limited to those hospitals that utilize current and acceptable telemedicine protocols relative to acute stroke treatment as defined by the department;
   2. Upon receipt of complete and proper application for certification as a remote treatment stroke center, the department shall schedule and conduct an inspection of the applicant's facility no later than 90 days after receipt of application; and
   3. Any hospital, upon certification by the department as a remote treatment stroke center, shall automatically be identified as a remote treatment stroke center and shall be added to the list of such hospitals maintained pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 31-11-115.
3. Any additional levels of stroke centers established by the department pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 31-11-112 shall be certified by the department in accordance with any criteria and guidelines established by the department in rules and regulations.
4. Comprehensive and primary stroke centers are encouraged to coordinate, through agreement, with remote treatment stroke centers throughout the state to provide appropriate access to care for acute stroke patients. The coordinating stroke care agreements shall be in writing and include at minimum:
   1. Transfer agreements for the transport and acceptance of all stroke patients seen by the remote treatment stroke center for stroke treatment therapies which the remote treatment stroke center is not capable of providing; and
   2. Communication criteria and protocols with the remote treatment stroke centers.

(Code 1981, §31-11-113, enacted by Ga. L. 2008, p. 1102, § 2/SB 549; Ga. L. 2012, p. 337, § 6/SB 361; Ga. L. 2016, p. 438, § 1/HB 853.)

The 2012 amendment, effective July 1, 2012, substituted "a nationally recognized health care accreditation body" for "the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations" in the first sentence of subsection (a).

The 2016 amendment, effective April 26, 2016, in subsection (a), inserted "comprehensive or" in the first and second sentences, in the first sentence, substituted "national health" for "nationally recognized health" in the middle, and added "recognized by the department" at the end, in the second sentence, substituted "this subsection shall" for "this Code section must" near the middle, and substituted "any such national health care accreditation body" for "the commission" at the end; in the introductory paragraph of subsection (b), inserted "either by certification as an acute stroke-ready hospital by a national health care accreditation body recognized by the department or" in the first sentence, and inserted "application" in the second sentence; substituted "maintained pursuant to" for "as defined in" near the end of paragraph (b)(3); added subsection (c); redesignated former subsection (c) as present subsection (d); and, in subsection (d), substituted "Comprehensive and primary" for "Primary" in the first sentence of the introductory paragraph.