California Code of Regulations
Title 15 - Crime Prevention and Corrections
Division 3 - Adult Institutions, Programs and Parole
Chapter 2 - Rules and Regulations of Health Care Services
Subchapter 2 - Patient's Entitlements and Responsibilities
Article 5 - Health Care Grievances
Section 3999.225 - Definitions

(a) Accepted means that the health care grievance qualified for processing at the level submitted.

(b) Administrative remedy means the non-judicial process provided to address patient health care grievances in which a patient may allege an issue and seek a remedy and the Health Care Grievance Office and Health Care Correspondence and Appeals Branch have an opportunity to intervene and respond. A headquarters' level health care grievance appeal disposition exhausts administrative remedies.

(c) Amendment means a headquarters' instruction to the institution to revise a previously written institutional level health care grievance response which requires correction or clarification prior to conducting a headquarters' level grievance appeal review.

(d) Appeal means a patient's submission of a health care grievance to the headquarters' level for review of the institutional level disposition.

(e) Business day means Monday through Friday excluding State holidays.

(f) Chief Executive Officer (health care) means the highest level health care executive assigned to a CDCR institution.

(g) Disposition means the outcome of the health care grievance review at the level submitted.

(h) Expedited health care grievance means a health care grievance determined by clinical staff to require expeditious handling.

(i) Headquarters' level directive means a written mandate by the headquarters' level reviewing authority to the institutional level reviewing authority requiring the action as identified in the directive, after headquarters' review of a health care grievance appeal.

(j) Health care discipline means medical, dental, or mental health.

(k) Health Care Correspondence and Appeals Branch (HCCAB) means the office responsible for statewide oversight of the grievance program and the headquarters' level health care grievance appeal review.

(l) Health care grievance means a written complaint submitted by a patient using a CDCR 602 HC, pursuant to section 3999.226(a).

(m) Health Care Grievance Office (HCGO) means the office responsible for coordinating the institutional level health care grievance review.

(n) Health care grievance package means the CDCR 602 HC and the CDCR 602 HC A, Health Care Grievance Attachment and all supporting documents. A health care grievance is not a record of care and treatment rendered and shall not be filed in the central file or health record.

(o) Health care grievance process means all steps involving patient preparation and health care staff receipt, review, disposition, and exhaustion of submitted health care grievances.

(p) Health care staff means any administrative and/or clinical staff involved in the health care grievance process under health care's reviewing authority.

(q) Intervention means available administrative action or redress deemed necessary by health care staff to address an identified health care grievance.

(r) Material adverse effect means harm or injury that is measurable or demonstrable (even if that measurement or demonstration is subjective for the patient) or the reasonable likelihood of such harm or injury due to a health care policy, decision, action, condition, or omission.

(s) Multiple health care grievances means health care grievances received from more than one patient on an identical issue.

(t) Patient means an incarcerated person who is seeking or receiving health care services.

(u) Rejected means that the submitted health care grievance or appeal of grievance disposition did not qualify for processing for the reasons stated in the rejection.

(v) Response means the written notification provided to the patient relative to the disposition, rejection, or withdrawal of a health care grievance or health care grievance appeal.

(w) Reviewing authority means health care staff authorized to approve and sign health care grievance responses to ensure procedural due process. The reviewing authority does not conduct a clinical review.

(x) Staff misconduct means health care staff behavior or activity that violates a law, regulation, policy, or procedure, or is contrary to an ethical or professional standard.

(y) Supporting documents means any document the patient may need to substantiate allegations made including, but not limited to, property inventory sheets, property receipts, trust account statements, and written requests for interviews, items, or health care services. Supporting documents do not include documents that only restate the issue(s) grieved, argue its merits, or introduce new issues not identified in the current health care grievance form(s), or documents accessible to health care staff, such as patient health records.