An Act to provide the Department of Health with oversight authority for the provision of emergency medical services.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:
Section 1. That 34-11-1 be AMENDED:
34-11-1.
Any
A
county or
municipality may
provide ambulance service and enter into agreements with other
governmental subdivisions and with other persons for such services.
Any county or municipality may appropriate funds for such purposes:
(1) Provide
or contract for the provision of ambulance services;
and may
enter into an agreement with such other governmental
(2) Contract
with a political subdivision
or
any competent
other person
to furnish funds for such purposes,
on an annual basis
as may mutually be agreed upon. The funds shall be paid to such
person or political subdivision when a claim has been duly filed,
audited, and allowed by the county or municipality. Any county or
municipality may license and regulate persons providing such
services,
for the provision of moneys to support ambulance services.
Section 2. That 34-11-2 be AMENDED:
34-11-2. Terms used in this chapter mean:
(1) "Air
ambulance," an aircraft, fixed wing, or helicopter, that is
designated or can be quickly modified to provide transportation of
wounded, injured, sick, invalid, or incapacitated human beings or
expectant mothers;
(2) "Ambulance,"
a vehicle
for emergency care with
that has a
driver compartment and a patient compartment, carrying
and
carries all
equipment and supplies needed
to provide
emergency
medical technical-basic level for
the provision of
emergency care,
at the scene
of an emergency
and enroute to
an appropriate
a medical
facility,
by:
(a) Advanced life support personnel, as defined in 36-4B-1; and
(b) Emergency medical technicians, certified in accordance with section 31 of this Act; and
(3)(2) "Ambulance
service," any person or organization that
is licensed by
the Department of Health to
provide emergency medical services,
at the scene of an emergency and enroute to a medical facility, and
to
provide nonemergency medical transportation to a patient
transport;
(4) "Emergency
medical responder," any person certified by the Department of
Health trained to provide simple, noninvasive care focused on
lifesaving interventions for critical patients. The emergency medical
responder renders on site emergency care while awaiting additional
emergency medical services response from an emergency medical
technician or higher level personnel. An emergency medical responder
may notmake decisions independently regarding the appropriate
disposition of a patient;
(5) "Emergency
medical technician" any person trained in emergency medical care
in accordance with standards prescribed by rules promulgated pursuant
to this chapter, who provides emergency medical services, including
automated external defibrillation under indirect medical control, in
accordance with the person's level of training;
(6) "License,"
the permit to provide ambulance service;
(7) "Licensing
agency," the Department of Health;
(8) "Medical
director," a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 36-4
who is responsible for providing medical supervision and direction to
an ambulance service; and
(9) "Operator,"
any person or entity who has a license from the licensing agency to
provide ambulance service.
Section 3. That 34-11-3 be AMENDED:
34-11-3.
No
Before
an ambulance
service
shall may
be operated in
this stateunless
the ambulance service has a currently valid license from the
licensing agency to provide such,
the service
must be licensed by the Department of Health. In order to obtain
licensure, the chief executive of the service must:
(1) Complete and submit an application developed by the department; and
(2) Submit a licensure fee established by the department, in rule, pursuant to chapter 1-26, but not exceeding twenty-five dollars.
A license issued in accordance with this section expires two years from the date of issuance.
Section 4. That 34-11-5 be AMENDED:
34-11-5.
The Department of
Health may
adoptshall
promulgate
rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26,
relating to the licensure
and operation
of an
ambulance
services including patient care, personnel, medical
and
maintenance
service.
The rules must include:
(1) The nature and scope of the services that may be provided to patients by the ambulance service;
(2) The medical equipment and supplies that must be on board each ambulance;
(3) The
maintenance requirements for medical equipment,
sanitary conditions, and necessary supplies;
and
(4) Sanitary requirements.
Section 5. That 34-11-6 be AMENDED:
34-11-6.
No
operator may provideThe
Department of Health may not license an ambulance
service unless both
the each
driver of
the ambulance and the attendant on duty in the ambulance possess
certification of completing an emergency carehas:
(1) Completed
an emergency vehicles operation course,
approved by the Department
of Healthdepartment;
and
(2) Met all other requirements set forth by the department, in rules promulgated under chapter 1-26, regarding:
(a) The performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
(b) The maintenance of patient confidentiality;
(c) Infection control measures;
(d) Patient movement; and
(e) Equipment and communication system knowledge.
The department shall, in rules promulgated under chapter 1-26, establish the frequency with which a driver must undergo initial and continued training.
Section 6. That 34-11-6.1 be AMENDED:
34-11-6.1.
The Department of
Health may
deny the issuance or renewal of a certification or suspend or revoke
the certification of any driver or attendant certified pursuant to
34-11-6 upon satisfactory proof of the person's gross
incompetence, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct, including
acts of gross incompetence, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct
occurring before July 1, 2006. For the purposes of this section, the
Department of Health shall define, in rules pursuant to chapter 1-26,
the terms, gross incompetence, unprofessional conduct, and
dishonorable conduct
not license an ambulance service unless each attendant is:
(1) An emergency medical technician, certified in accordance with chapter 36-4B;
(2) An emergency medical technician-intermediate/85, licensed in accordance with chapter 36-4B;
(3) An emergency medical technician-intermediate/99, licensed in accordance with chapter 36-4B;
(4) An advanced emergency medical technician, licensed in accordance with chapter 36-4B; or
(5) A paramedic, licensed in accordance with chapter 36-4B.
Section 7. That 34-11-7 be AMENDED:
34-11-7.
Each
operator shall record each trip on forms designated by the licensing
agency and copies submitted to the department monthly. These records
shall be maintained for a period of four years and upon request be
made available to the department for inspection
ambulance service shall provide electronic trip records to the
Department of Health, at the time and in the manner directed by the
department. The department shall set forth the required content for
these records in rules promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26.
The content must be statistical in nature and may not include any
information that is confidential, as referenced in section 8 of this
Act.
Section 8. That chapter 34-11 be amended with a NEW SECTION:
Any information that contains a patient's name, address, diagnosis, treatment, or other personally identifiable information, and which is obtained by the staff of an ambulance service, is a confidential medical record and is not subject to chapter 1-27.
Section 9. That 34-11-8 be AMENDED:
34-11-8.
No
provision of 34-11-2
to 34-11-10,
inclusive, nor any regulation adopted pursuant to said sections shall
be construed as limiting any other provision of law delegating to
theThe
Department of Health the
authority to regulate and
may inspect an
ambulance to verify that the
siren
and warning
lights,
siren, brakes, and mechanical adequacy and safety of ambulances
are operational.
Section 10. That 34-11-9 be AMENDED:
34-11-9.
The following are
exempt from the provisions of 34-11-2
to