Outpatient cardiac catheterization might be coming to California. Citing the need for convenient and accessible patient care, both houses of California's legislature passed a bill late last month letting outpatient facilities host cardiac catheterization.

The bill, AB 491, specifically opens the door for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, both of which are planning new outpatient additions to host the procedures, but observers say the bill may be expanded to include all of the state's hospitals.

The California Nurses Association opposed the bill. It argued that state law had previously limited cardiac catheterization to inpatient hospitals in order to ensure immediate access to emergency care if it was needed. The 2 hospitals point out, however, that their outpatient additions will be connected to the main hospital buildings.

The legislation, sponsored by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), has been delivered to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.

David Bernard