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2008 SESSION


CHAPTER 118
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 15.2-1518, 32.1-111.1, 32.1-116.1:1, and 32.1-116.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to emergency medical services personnel; definitions.
[H 248]
Approved March 2, 2008

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That §§ 15.2-1518, 32.1-111.1, 32.1-116.1:1, and 32.1-116.3 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 15.2-1518. Liability insurance for officers, employees and volunteers of local government and members of its boards and commissions and constitutional officers.

Any locality and any political subdivision thereof may provide liability insurance or self-insurance for its fire department operational medical director, police department operational medical director, operational medical director, physician course director for any licensed emergency medical services agency or emergency medical services training program located therein endorsed by the Office of Emergency Medical Services and for its officers, employees and volunteers, including any commission or board, and employees and members thereof, of any authority created or controlled by the local governing body, or any local agency or public service corporation owned, operated or controlled by such local governing body and constitutional officers and their employees.

The insurance or self-insurance may cover the costs and expenses incident to liability, including those for settlement, suit, or satisfaction of judgment arising from the conduct of such operational medical directors, physician course directors, officers, employees, members or volunteers in the discharge of their official duties.

For the purposes of this section, "physician course director" or "PCD" means an EMS physician who is responsible for the clinical aspects of emergency medical care training programs, including the clinical and field actions of enrolled students.

§ 32.1-111.1. Definitions.

As used in this article:

"Advisory Board" means the State Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board.

"Agency" means any person engaged in the business, service or regular activity, whether or not for profit, of transporting persons who are sick, injured, wounded or otherwise incapacitated or helpless, or of rendering immediate medical care to such persons.

"Ambulance" means any vehicle, vessel or aircraft, which holds a valid permit issued by the Office of Emergency Medical Services, that is specially constructed, equipped, maintained and operated, and is intended to be used for emergency medical care and the transportation of patients who are sick, injured, wounded, or otherwise incapacitated or helpless. The word "ambulance" may not appear on any vehicle, vessel or aircraft that does not hold a valid permit.

"Automated external defibrillator" means a medical device which combines a heart monitor and defibrillator and (i) has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, (ii) is capable of recognizing the presence or absence of ventricular fibrillation or rapid ventricular tachycardia, (iii) is capable of determining, without intervention by an operator, whether defibrillation should be performed, and (iv) automatically charges and requests delivery of an electrical impulse to an individual's heart, upon determining that defibrillation should be performed.

"Emergency medical services personnel" means persons responsible for the direct provision of emergency medical services in a given medical emergency including all persons who could be described as attendants, attendants-in-charge, or operators.

"Emergency medical services physician" or "EMS physician" means a physician who holds a current endorsement from the Office of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and may serve as an EMS agency operational medical director or training program physician course director.

"Emergency medical services provider" or "EMS provider" means a person who holds a valid certification issued by the Office of Emergency Medical Services.

"Emergency medical services vehicle" means any vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or ambulance that holds a valid emergency medical services vehicle permit issued by the Office of Emergency Medical Services that is equipped, maintained or operated to provide emergency medical care or transportation of patients who are sick, injured, wounded, or otherwise incapacitated or helpless.

"Operational medical director" or "OMD" means an EMS physician, currently licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine in the Commonwealth, who is formally recognized and responsible for providing medical direction, oversight and quality improvement to an EMS agency.

§ 32.1-116.1:1. Disclosure of medical records.

Any licensed physician, licensed health care provider, or licensed health care facility may disclose to an emergency medical technician services provider, emergency medical services physician, or their licensed parent agency the medical records of a sick or injured person to whom such technician emergency medical services provider or emergency medical services physician is providing or has rendered emergency medical care for the purpose of promoting the medical education of the specific person who provided such care or for quality improvement initiatives of their agency or of the EMS system as a whole. Any emergency medical technician services provider or emergency medical services  physician to whom such confidential records are disclosed shall not further disclose such information to any persons not entitled to receive that information in accordance with the provisions of this section.

§ 32.1-116.3. Reporting of communicable diseases; definition.

A. For the purposes of this section:

"Communicable disease of public health threat" means an illness of public health significance, as determined by the State Health Commissioner in accordance with regulations of the Board of Health, caused by a specific or suspected infectious agent that may be reasonably expected or is known to be readily transmitted directly or indirectly from one individual or person to another or to uninfected persons through airborne or nonairborne means and has been found to create a risk of death or significant injury or impairment; this definition shall not, however, be construed to include human immunodeficiency viruses or tuberculosis, unless used as a bioterrorism weapon. "Individual" shall include any companion animal.

"Communicable diseases" means any airborne infection or disease, including, but not limited to, tuberculosis, measles, certain meningococcal infections, mumps, chicken pox and Hemophilus Influenzae Type b, and those transmitted by contact with blood or other human body fluids, including, but not limited to, human immunodeficiency virus, Hepatitis B and Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis.

B. Every licensed health care facility which transfers or receives patients via emergency medical services ambulances or mobile intensive care units shall notify the emergency medical services agencies providing such patient transport of the name and telephone number of the individual who is the infection control practitioner with the responsibility of investigating exposure to infectious diseases in the facility.

Every licensed emergency medical services agency established in the Commonwealth shall notify all facilities to which they transport patients or from which they transfer patients of the names and telephone numbers of the members, not to exceed three persons, who have been appointed to serve as the communicable disease liaison officers. Every licensed emergency medical services agency shall implement universal precautions and shall ensure that these precautions are appropriately followed and enforced.

C. Upon requesting any licensed emergency medical services agency to transfer (i) a patient who is known to be positive for or who suffers from any communicable disease which, in the judgment of the physician authorizing the transfer or the facility's infection control practitioner, presents any risk to the transporting emergency medical services personnel or to patients who may be subsequently transported in the same vehicle, or (ii) a patient who is known to be subject to an order of quarantine or an order of isolation pursuant to Article 3.02 (§ 32.1-48.05 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of this title, the transferring facility shall inform the attendant-in-charge of the transferring crew of the general condition of the patient and the types of precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of the disease. The identity of the patient shall be confidential.

D. If any firefighter, law-enforcement officer, emergency medical services technician provider or paramedic has an exposure of blood or body fluid to mucous membrane, non-intact skin, or a contaminated needlestick injury, his communicable disease liaison officer shall be notified, a report completed and the infection control practitioner at the receiving facility notified.

E. If, during the course of medical care and treatment, any physician determines that a patient who was transported to a receiving facility by any licensed emergency medical services agency (i) is positive for or has been diagnosed as suffering from an airborne infectious disease or (ii) is subject to an order of quarantine or an order of isolation pursuant to Article 3.02 (§ 32.1-48.05 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of this title, then the infection control practitioner in the facility shall immediately notify the communicable disease liaison officer who represents the transporting emergency medical services agency of the name of the patient, and the date and time of the patient's admittance to the facility. The communicable disease liaison officer for the transporting emergency medical services agency shall investigate the incident to determine if any exposure of emergency medical services personnel or other emergency personnel occurred. The identity of the patient and all personnel involved in any such investigation shall be confidential.

F. If any firefighter, law-enforcement officer, emergency medical services technician provider or paramedic shall be exposed to a communicable disease, the communicable disease liaison officer shall immediately notify the infection control practitioner of the receiving facility. The infection control practitioner of the facility shall conduct an investigation and provide information concerning the extent and severity of the exposure and the recommended course of action to the communicable disease liaison officer of the transporting agency. This section shall not be construed to create a duty by the receiving facility to perform any test or tests beyond those necessary for the medical management of the patient delivered by an emergency medical services agency to the receiving facility nor shall it affect the operation of the provisions of § 32.1-45.1.

G. Any person requesting or requiring any employee of a public safety agency as defined in subsection J of § 32.1-45.2 to arrest, transfer, or otherwise exercise custodial supervision over an individual known to the requesting person (i) to be infected with any communicable disease or (ii) to be subject to an order of quarantine or an order of isolation pursuant to Article 3.02 (§ 32.1-48.05 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of this title shall inform such public safety agency employee of a potential risk of exposure to a communicable disease.

H. Local or state correctional facilities which transfer patients known to have a communicable disease or to be subject to an order of quarantine or an order of isolation pursuant to Article 3.02 (§ 32.1-48.05 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of this title shall notify the emergency medical services agency providing transportation services of a potential risk of exposure to a communicable disease, including a communicable disease of public health threat. For the purposes of this section, the chief medical person at a local or state correctional facility or the facility director or his designee shall be responsible for providing such information to the transporting agency.

I. Any person who, as a result of this provision, becomes aware of the identity or condition of a person known to be (i) positive for or to suffer from any communicable disease, or to have suffered exposure to a communicable disease or (ii) subject to an order of quarantine or an order of isolation pursuant to Article 3.02 (§ 32.1-48.05 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of this title, shall keep such information confidential, except as expressly authorized by this provision.

J. No person known to be (i) positive for or to suffer from any communicable disease, including any communicable disease of public health threat, or (ii) subject to an order of quarantine or an order of isolation pursuant to Article 3.02 (§ 32.1-48.05 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of this title, shall be refused transportation or service for that reason by an emergency medical services, law-enforcement, or public safety agency.