CA SB336

Requires every licensed general acute care hospital with an emergency department to calculate and record a crowding score every 4 hours using a specified formula to assess emergency department conditions

Permits hospitals with fewer than 14,000 annual emergency department visits to calculate crowding scores once daily between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and allows hospitals without level four or higher crowding scores for 30 consecutive days to reduce calculation frequency to every 8 hours

Mandates hospitals develop and implement full-capacity protocols by January 1, 2014 addressing notification procedures, hospital operations, emergency department operations, and medical staff responses for each crowding scale category

Requires hospitals to file full-capacity protocols with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development and annually report any protocol revisions

Repeals all provisions on January 1, 2017 unless extended by later statute