Cal. HSC § 1798.161
This is the official text of Cal. HSC § 1798.161, part of California’s Health and Safety Code — covers public health, hospitals, controlled substances, and environmental health standards.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) The authority shall submit draft regulations specifying minimum standards for the implementation of trauma care systems to the commission on or before July 1, 1984, and shall adopt the regulations on or before July 1, 1985. These regulations shall provide specific requirements for the care of trauma cases and shall ensure that the trauma care system is fully coordinated with all elements of the existing emergency medical services system. The regulations shall be adopted as provided in Section 1799.50, and shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Prehospital care management guidelines for triage and transportation of trauma cases.
(2) Flow patterns of trauma cases and geographic boundaries regarding trauma and nontrauma cases.
(3) The number and type of trauma cases necessary to assure that trauma facilities will provide quality care to trauma cases referred to them.
(4) The resources and equipment needed by trauma facilities to treat trauma cases.
(5) The availability and qualifications of the health care personnel, including physicians and surgeons, treating trauma cases within a trauma facility.
(6) Data collection regarding system operation and patient outcome.
(7) Periodic performance evaluation of the trauma system and its components.
(b) The authority may grant an exception to a portion of the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) upon substantiation of need by a local EMS agency that, as defined in the regulations, compliance with that requirement would not be in the best interests of the persons served within the affected local EMS area.
(1) Prehospital care management guidelines for triage and transportation of trauma cases.
(2) Flow patterns of trauma cases and geographic boundaries regarding trauma and nontrauma cases.
(3) The number and type of trauma cases necessary to assure that trauma facilities will provide quality care to trauma cases referred to them.
(4) The resources and equipment needed by trauma facilities to treat trauma cases.
(5) The availability and qualifications of the health care personnel, including physicians and surgeons, treating trauma cases within a trauma facility.
(6) Data collection regarding system operation and patient outcome.
(7) Periodic performance evaluation of the trauma system and its components.
(b) The authority may grant an exception to a portion of the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) upon substantiation of need by a local EMS agency that, as defined in the regulations, compliance with that requirement would not be in the best interests of the persons served within the affected local EMS area.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.