House Bill No. 498, introduced by Representative Phelps, aims to create an exception to hospital credentialing requirements by establishing emergency privileges for healthcare professionals in specific circumstances. The bill enacts R.S. 40:2109.4, which mandates that a transferring hospital must grant emergency privileges to a qualified healthcare professional to perform a unique procedure on a patient admitted to the hospital. These privileges are valid for the duration of the procedure and are contingent upon the healthcare professional being credentialed to perform the same procedure at the receiving hospital.

Under the proposed law, the healthcare professional must notify the transferring hospital of their intent to seek emergency privileges before departing for the receiving hospital. The transferring hospital is required to grant these privileges within one hour of receiving the notice. The bill also provides definitions for key terms, including "healthcare professional" and "unique procedure," which encompasses treatments such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and organ transplantation procedures.