BILL NUMBER: S5333
SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to authorizing colla-
borative programs for community paramedicine services
 
PURPOSE:
Authorizes collaborative programs for community paramedicine services.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 2805-x of the Public Health Law (PHL), as it
relates to the hospital-home care-physician collaboration, to add emer-
gency medical services to the list of entities that can participate in
this collaboration and adds the terms "Hospitals," "Home care agency,"
"Payor," "Practitioner," and "Emergency medical services" to the list of
definitions for the purposes of this section. This collaboration intends
to improve patient care access and management, patient health outcomes,
and cost-effectiveness.
Section 2 adds a new section 3001-a of PHL, as it relates to community
paramedicine services, to provide that an emergency medical technician
or advanced emergency medical technician who works as an employee or
volunteer of an ambulance service or an advanced life support first
response service certified under this Article can also participate in
models of community paramedicine.
Section 3 provides an effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Community paramedicine is the provision of health care by an emergency
medical technician (EMT) or advanced EMT in circumstances other than the
initial emergency medical care and transport of sick patients. This may
include but is not limited to, coordinating patient care and transporta-
tion decisions with other providers; helping refer frequent emergency
medical services (EMS) users to appropriate services to break the cycle
of relying on EMS calls; using EMS care assessment skills to evaluate
patients and activate follow-up care; or improving health and safety
conditions for vulnerable patients by evaluating potential hazards in
the patient's home.
This bill authorizes EMTs or advanced EMTs, acting as part of a collabo-
rative program with other healthcare providers, to offer community
paramedicine services within their existing scope of practice. These
activities will improve continuity of care between emergency response
and other healthcare providers, helping to avoid prevent :We hospitali-
zations and reduce some patients' overreliance on emergency calls as
their first and only point of contact with the healthcare system.
A report by the NYS Emergency Medical Services Council (SEMSCO) and
Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (SEMAC) laid out parameters for
authorization of community paramedicine ("Achieving Mobile Integrated
Health Care Through the Use of Community Paramedicine," Community Param-
edicine Technical Advisory Group, August 2014). The 2014 Department of
Health North Country Health Systems Redesign Commission also recommended
the implementation of community paramedicine for home visits and preven-
tive care.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018: S5588 Hannon/A2733-A Gottfried
2019-2020: S1805 Rivera/A1208 Gottfried
2021-2022: S1590 Rivera/A151 Gottfried
2023-2024: S4784 Rivera/A7174 Paulin
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Savings such as emergency room, ambulance transport, and other health
care services are avoided through the use of community paramedicine.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective immediately.