Senate Bill 1476e1
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to emergency medical services;
3 amending s. 401.25, F.S.; revising
4 qualifications for licensure as basic or
5 advanced life support service; amending s.
6 401.27, F.S.; requiring applications to be made
7 under oath by emergency medical technicians or
8 paramedics; amending s. 401.30, F.S.; providing
9 the department with rule authority for patient
10 care records of licensed ambulance services;
11 amending s. 401.35, F.S.; authorizing the
12 department to prescribe by rule requirements
13 for storage, and security of medications
14 maintained by licensed support services;
15 creating s. 401.49, F.S.; authorizing the
16 department's approval of emergency medical
17 technician and paramedic programs; creating s.
18 401.50, F.S.; providing recertification
19 requirements for paramedics and emergency
20 medical technicians; providing an effective
21 date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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25 Section 1. Subsection (7) is added to section 401.25,
26 Florida Statutes, to read:
27 401.25 Licensure as a basic life support or an
28 advanced life support service.--
29 (7)(a) Each permitted basic-life-support ambulance of
30 a licensee not specifically exempted from this part, when
31 transporting a person who is sick, injured, wounded,
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1 incapacitated, or helpless, must be occupied by at least two
2 persons: one patient attendant who is a certified emergency
3 medical technician, certified paramedic, or licensed physician
4 and one ambulance driver who meets the requirements of s.
5 401.281. This subsection does not apply to interfacility
6 transfers governed by s. 401.252(1).
7 (b) Each permitted advanced-life-support ambulance of
8 a licensee not specifically exempted from this part, when
9 transporting a person who is sick, injured, wounded,
10 incapacitated, or helpless must be occupied by at least two
11 persons: one who is a certified paramedic or licensed
12 physician and one who is a certified emergency medical
13 technician, certified paramedic, or licensed physician who
14 also meets the requirements of s. 401.281 for drivers. The
15 person with the highest medical certifications shall be in
16 charge of patient care. This subsection does not apply to
17 interfacility transfers governed by s. 401.252(1).
18 (c) Each advanced-life-support-permitted nontransport
19 vehicle of a licensee not specifically exempted from this part
20 must be occupied by at least two persons: one patient
21 attendant who is a certified paramedic or licensed physician
22 and one who is a certified emergency medical technician,
23 certified paramedic, or licensed physician. An
24 advanced-life-support-permitted nontransport vehicle may
25 operate as a basic-life-support nontransport vehicle if the
26 paramedic is temporarily providing patient care on another
27 vehicle for a maximum of 4 hours in a 24-hour period when
28 deemed by the licensee to be necessary to the operation of the
29 service as a result of unplanned events. This action may only
30 be taken in lieu of placing the unit completely out of
31 service. The licensee will ensure that the advanced life
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1 support service level is not routinely, intentionally, or
2 repeatedly compromised as the result of this type of action.
3 The licensee will ensure that the closest available
4 advanced-life-support-permitted unit is dispatched to the
5 incident with the basic life support nontransport unit.
6 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 401.27, Florida
7 Statutes, is amended to read:
8 401.27 Personnel; standards and certification.--
9 (3) Any person who desires to be certified or
10 recertified as an emergency medical technician or paramedic
11 must apply under oath to the department on forms provided by
12 the department which shall contain such information as the
13 department reasonably requires and which may include
14 affirmative evidence of ability to comply with applicable laws
15 and rules. The department shall determine whether the
16 applicant meets the requirements specified in this section and
17 in rules of the department and shall issue a certificate to
18 any person who meets such requirements.
19 Section 3. Present subsection (2) of section 401.30,
20 Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is redesignated as
21 subsection (3), and a new subsection (2) is added to that
22 section, to read:
23 401.30 Records.--
24 (2) Each licensee must provide the receiving hospital
25 with a copy of an individual patient care record for each
26 patient who is transported to the hospital. The information
27 contained on the record and the method and timeframe for
28 providing the record shall be prescribed by rule of the
29 department.
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1 Section 4. Paragraph (l) is added to subsection (1)
2 and paragraph (h) of subsection (2) of section 401.35, Florida
3 Statutes, is amended to read:
4 401.35 Rules.--The department shall adopt rules
5 necessary to carry out the purposes of this part.
6 (1) The rules must provide at least minimum standards
7 governing:
8 (l) Licensees' security and storage of controlled
9 substances, medications, and fluids that are not inconsistent
10 with the requirements of chapter 499 or chapter 893.
11 (2) The rules must establish application requirements
12 for licensure and certification. Pursuant thereto, the
13 department must develop application forms for basic life
14 support services and advanced life support services. An
15 application for each respective service license must include,
16 but is not limited to:
17 (h) Such other information as the department
18 determines reasonable and necessary and an oath, upon forms
19 provided by the department which shall contain such
20 information as the department reasonably requires and which
21 may include affirmative evidence of the ability to comply with
22 applicable laws and rules.
23 Section 5. Section 401.49, Florida Statutes, is
24 created to read:
25 401.49 Approval of emergency medical technicians and
26 paramedic programs.--
27 (1) Any private or public institution in this state
28 which desires to conduct an approved program for educating
29 emergency medical technicians and paramedics must submit to
30 the department a completed application on a form provided by
31 the department which includes:
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1 (a) Evidence that the institution is in compliance
2 with all applicable requirements of the Department of
3 Education.
4 (b) Evidence that the institution has an agreement of
5 affiliation with a hospital that has an emergency department
6 staffed by at least one physician and one registered nurse.
7 (c) Evidence that the institution has an agreement of
8 affiliation with an emergency medical service provider that
9 holds a current license in this state. Such agreement must
10 include, at a minimum, a commitment by the provider to conduct
11 the field-experience portion of the education program.
12 (d) Documentation verifying that the institution's
13 faculty includes:
14 1. A medical director who is a licensed physician who
15 meets the applicable requirements for an EMS medical director,
16 as outlined in this chapter and rules of the department. The
17 medical director shall certify that graduates have
18 successfully completed all phases of the education program and
19 are proficient in basic or advanced life-support techniques,
20 as applicable.
21 2. A program director who is responsible for the
22 operation, organization, periodic review, administration,
23 development, and approval of the program.
24 (e) Documentation verifying that the curriculum:
25 1. Meets the course guides and instructor's lesson
26 plans in the most recent Emergency Medical Technician Basic
27 National Standard Curricula for emergency medical technician
28 programs and the Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic
29 National Standard Curricula for paramedic programs.
30 2. Includes 2 hours of instruction on the trauma
31 scorecard methodologies for assessment of adult trauma
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1 patients and pediatric trauma patients, as specified by the
2 department by rule.
3 3. Includes 4 hours of instruction on HIV and AIDS,
4 which is consistent with the requirements of chapter 381.
5 (f) Evidence that the institution has sufficient
6 medical and educational equipment to meet the program needs
7 for training in emergency medical services.
8 (2) The department must schedule a site visit to the
9 applicant's institution within 30 days after notifying the
10 institution that the application is accepted. During the site
11 visit, the department must determine the applicant's
12 compliance with the following criteria:
13 (a) The program for emergency medical technicians must
14 require a minimum of 110 hours, with at least 20 hours of
15 supervised clinical supervision that includes 10 hours in a
16 hospital emergency department.
17 (b) The program for paramedics must be available only
18 to an emergency medical technician who is certified in this
19 state or to an applicant for certification in this state as an
20 emergency medical technician who obtains such certification
21 prior to completing phase one of the paramedic program. The
22 paramedic program must require a minimum of 700 hours of
23 didactic and skills-practice components, with a
24 student-to-instructor ratio for the skills laboratory which
25 does not exceed six to one. A paramedic program must provide
26 field-internship experience aboard an ALS permitted ambulance.
27 (3) After completing the site visit, the department
28 shall provide a report to the institution. Upon completion of
29 the report, the application is complete and s. 120.60 applies.
30 (4) If the program is approved, the department shall
31 issue the institution a 2-year certificate of approval as an
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1 emergency medical technician training program or a paramedic
2 training program. If the application is denied, the department
3 must notify the applicant of areas of strength, areas that
4 need improvement, and suggested means of improving the
5 program. A notice of denial must be provided to the applicant
6 so that the applicant has at least 5 days prior to the
7 expiration of the application-processing time provided under
8 s. 120.60 in which to advise the department in writing of its
9 intent to submit a plan of correction. Notice of such intent
10 tolls the time for processing the application under s. 120.60.
11 The plan of correction must be submitted to the department
12 within 30 days after the notice. The department shall advise
13 the applicants of its approval or denial of the plan of
14 correction within 30 days after receipt of the plan of
15 correction. The denial of a plan of correction or an
16 application is subject to review under chapter 120.
17 (5) Each approved emergency medical services training
18 program shall maintain records and reports that must be made
19 available to the department upon written request. Such records
20 must include student applications, records of attendance,
21 records of participation in hospital clinic and field
22 training, medical records, course objectives and outlines,
23 class schedules, learning objectives, lesson plans, the number
24 of applicants, the number of students accepted, admission
25 requirements, descriptions of qualifications, duties and
26 responsibilities of the institution's faculty, and
27 correspondence.
28 (6) Each approved program must notify the department
29 within 30 days following any change in the professional or
30 employment status of a faculty member. Each approved program
31 must require its students to pass a comprehensive final
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1 written and practical examination that evaluates the skills
2 described in the most current Emergency Medical Technician
3 Basic or Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic National
4 Standard Curriculum of the United States Department of
5 Transportation. Each approved program must issue a
6 certification of completion to a graduate within 14 days after
7 successful completion of the program.
8 Section 6. Section 401.50, Florida Statutes, is
9 created to read:
10 401.50 Recertification training of emergency medical
11 technicians and paramedics.--
12 (1) The department shall establish by rule criteria
13 for all emergency medical technician and paramedic
14 recertification training. The rules must require at least 30
15 hours of recertification training and must include the
16 performance parameters for adult and pediatric emergency
17 medical clinical care, which are documented through a system
18 of recordkeeping.
19 (2) Any individual, institution, school, corporation,
20 or governmental entity may conduct emergency medical
21 technician or paramedic recertification training upon
22 application to the department and payment of a nonrefundable
23 fee to be deposited into the Emergency Medical Services Trust
24 Fund. Institutions conducting department-approved educational
25 programs as provided in this part and licensed ambulance
26 services are exempt from the application process and payment
27 of fees. The department shall adopt rules for the application
28 and payment of a fee not to exceed the actual cost of the
29 administration of the requirements of this subsection.
30 (3) To be eligible for recertification as provided in
31 s. 401.27, a certified emergency medical technician or
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1 paramedic must provide evidence to the department that the
2 applicant has completed the training required for
3 recertification under this section. The department shall
4 accept the written affirmation of a licensee's medical
5 director or a medical director of a department-approved
6 educational program as documentation that the certified
7 emergency medical technician or paramedic has completed the
8 recertification training required by this section.
9 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.
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