RCW 70.41.122: Exemption from RCW 70.41.120 for hospitals accredited by other entities.

Surveys conducted on hospitals by the department for the purpose of certification by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services or a department recognized and approved accrediting body for the purpose of accreditation or certification by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services may be deemed equivalent to a department survey if the department determines that the applicable survey standards are substantially equivalent to its own.

(1) Hospitals so surveyed shall provide to the department within 30 days of learning the result of a survey documentary evidence that the hospital has been certified as a result of a survey and the date of the survey.

(2) Hospitals shall make available to department surveyors the written reports of such surveys during department surveys, upon request.

(3) Hospitals that provide the department with documentary evidence as described in subsection (1) of this section may be exempt from the inspection frequency described in RCW 70.41.120(1), and instead will be inspected at least every 36 months.

(4)(a) In the event of a federal, state, or local emergency, if the department determines that conducting an unannounced inspection is not in the best interest of public health, the department may temporarily pause inspections of an individual hospital or all hospitals until it determines it is appropriate to resume.

(b) The provisions of (a) of this subsection do not prohibit or limit the department's responsibility to investigate concerns related to patient well-being described in RCW 70.41.155.