(a) As used in this chapter, “clinic” means an organized outpatient health facility that provides direct medical, surgical, dental, optometric, or podiatric advice, services, or treatment to patients who remain less than 24 hours, and that may also provide diagnostic or therapeutic services to patients in the home as an incident to care provided at the clinic facility. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the provision of nursing services in a clinic licensed pursuant to this chapter. In no case shall a clinic be deemed to be a health facility subject to the provisions of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250). A place, establishment, or institution that solely provides advice, counseling, information, or referrals on the maintenance of health or on the means and measures to prevent or avoid sickness, disease, or injury, where that advice, counseling, information, or referral does not constitute the practice of medicine, surgery, dentistry, optometry, or podiatry, shall not be deemed a clinic for purposes of this chapter.

(b) For purposes of this chapter:

(1) “Primary care clinics” means all the types of clinics specified in subdivision (a) of Section 1204, including community clinics and free clinics.

(2) “Specialty clinics” means all the types of clinics specified in subdivision (b) of Section 1204, including surgical clinics, chronic dialysis clinics, and rehabilitation clinics.

(3) “Clinic corporation” means a nonprofit organization that operates one or more primary care clinics, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1204, that are required to be licensed under Section 1205, one or more mobile health care units required to be licensed or approved pursuant to the Mobile Health Care Services Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 1765.101)) and operated as primary care clinics, or one or more primary care clinics and one or more mobile health care units.

(4) “Department” means the Licensing and Certification Division of the State Department of Public Health, or its successor.

(5) “Centralized applications unit” means the centralized applications unit in the Licensing and Certification Division of the department, or a successor entity.

(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 502, Sec. 2. (SB 442) Effective January 1, 2011.)