SB 1796 Summary

• Authorizes paramedics and emergency medical technicians to provide alternative treatment options (including health promotion, wellness activities, and blood pressure screenings) to nonemergency and urgent care patients outside emergency settings, under medical director supervision.

• Defines "emergency" as a medical condition with acute symptoms of sufficient severity that absence of immediate attention could jeopardize health or cause serious bodily impairment, and defines "nonemergency" as situations not requiring immediate action or emergency department transport.

• Revises ambulance equipment and vehicle design standards to be based on national standards in effect when the rule is adopted and on requirements specified by the medical director, rather than specific federal agency standards.

• Extends immunity from liability for emergency examination and treatment of incapacitated patients to include individuals acting under the direct medical supervision of emergency medical technicians, paramedics, advanced registered nurse practitioners, or physician assistants.

• Authorizes the department to adopt rules governing telemedicine use by emergency medical services licensees and updates cross-references throughout statute to reflect new subsection numbering for definitions in section 401.23.