The application for authorisation of the multidisciplinary centre for prenatal diagnosis is submitted by the director of the organisation or health establishment within which the centre is set up. It is made using a standard application form, the composition of which is set by the Director General of the Agence de la biomédecine.
This application is sent by the director of the organisation or health establishment to the Director General of the Agence de la biomédecine by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt, or lodged with the Agency in return for a receipt under the same conditions.
The Director of the Agency will acknowledge receipt of the application for authorisation and indicate the appeal procedures and deadlines. Where documents essential to the examination of the application are missing, the acknowledgement of receipt sets the deadline by which these documents must be supplied.
Within a maximum period of four months following the date of receipt of the complete application file, the Director General of the Agence de la biomédecine will notify the applicant of the decision to authorise or refuse authorisation. At the end of this period, the absence of a decision by the Director General is deemed to be an implicit decision to refuse authorisation.
The Director General of the Agency may request, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, any additional information that he considers necessary for the examination of the authorisation application. He will indicate the deadline by which the applicant must provide this information. This request for additional information suspends the deadline mentioned in the fourth paragraph.
On receipt of the complete application for authorisation, the Agence de la biomédecine sends a copy of the application to the Director General of the Regional Health Agency for an opinion.
The Director General of the Regional Health Agency will send his opinion to the Agence de la biomédecine within two months of the date on which the file was sent to him. Failure by the Director General of the Regional Health Agency to respond within this period will be deemed to constitute a favourable opinion.
The authorisation is renewed under the conditions defined in this article and also takes into account the results of the evaluation of the multidisciplinary prenatal diagnosis centre.
The Director General of the Agence de la biomédecine will inform the Director General of the Regional Health Agency concerned of authorisations granted or refused, and of decisions relating to the renewal of authorisations.