House Bill 610: Respiratory Care Modernization Act

• Establishes the "Advanced Respiratory Care Practitioner" (ARCP) license category with postgraduate training requirements, allowing ARCPs to perform advanced respiratory therapy practices under physician supervision.

• Creates a joint subcommittee of the North Carolina Medical Board and Respiratory Care Board to develop rules governing medical acts and prescriptive authority for advanced respiratory care practitioners, with both boards required to adopt rules.

• Expands the North Carolina Respiratory Care Board from 8 to 10 members, adding two respiratory care practitioners to represent the profession.

• Authorizes advanced respiratory care practitioners to prescribe, order, and dispense medications and medical devices related to cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary systems, subject to physician-approved protocols and board approval.

• Updates licensure examination requirements and educational standards to reflect current respiratory care practice, including provisions for provisional licensing while applicants await examination results; establishes October 1, 2022 effective date for most changes.