LOS ANGELES COUNTY — The Board of Supervisors approved an amendment by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich (pictured) to pursue legislation to restore oversight of physician-owned ambulatory surgery clinics to the State Department of Public Health’s Licensing Division.

“This responsibility was given to California’s Medical Board which has a poor track record and is not capable of providing the kind of comprehensive oversight needed for these clinics,” Antonovich said. “Patients undergoing surgeries in outpatient centers deserve to know that they have undergone the same rigorous scrutiny as hospitals and that they are not sacrificing quality of care or safety in doing so.”

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In 2008, State Licensing was stripped of its authority to license or regulate a surgical clinic that has any degree of physician ownership.