Chapter - Delaware General Assembly

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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LAWS OF DELAWARE

VOLUME 84

CHAPTER 419

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

FORMERLY

SENATE BILL NO. 223

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 AND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PARAMEDIC SERVICES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 9801, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 9801. Purpose.

(a) It is the purpose of this chapter to establish a statewide paramedic program under the direction of the Office of Emergency Medical Services, Division of Public Health, Department of Health and Social Services.

(b) The paramedic program includes a coordinated advanced life support system, under qualified medical supervision, which has the responsibility for providing a rapid response capability in the delivery of emergency medical services to individuals who become unexpectedly ill or incapacitated or who are otherwise placed in a position where highly skilled medical assistance must be rendered to sustain or maintain such individual prior to institutional health care.

(c) The paramedic services program shall be utilized for medical emergencies, either at the scene or while the patient is in transit to a health facility.

(d) It is the further purpose of this chapter to provide a program which shall have a direct impact on the morbidity and mortality rates of this State and which, over a period of time, will also reduce health-care costs to each emergency patient.

(e) It is the further purpose of this chapter to establish a framework for the creation of an effective and efficient means for the provision of advanced life support services to the citizens of the this State regardless of their economic status, who require such services without prior inquiry as to the patient’s ability to pay.

(f) This chapter is intended to promote the public health, safety safety, and welfare of the citizens of this State by providing for the creation of a statewide advanced life support services system, in conjunction with the efforts of all providers of emergency medical services in this State, with uniform standards for all such providers of advanced life support services.

(g) It is the further purpose of this chapter to insure ensure that emergency patients requiring advanced life support services are transported from the scene of a medical emergency to the nearest emergency medical institution or the institution of their choice, within reason, that possesses the equipment and staff resources to immediately attend to the particular needs of the patient. This statement is tempered by the understanding that, in certain circumstances, it may be necessary to bypass the closest medical facility if specialized medical care is required. It shall also be understood that the use of paramedics to assist in the transfer of patients to facilities and programs which offer such follow-up care and rehabilitation as is necessary to effect the maximum recovery of the patient, shall be permitted when deemed medically necessary.

(h) It is the further purpose of this chapter to ensure that patients who are being seen under a written agreement and enrollment into a mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine program are not considered emergencies, but rather follow up to a previous medical condition that required emergency transport to a hospital.

Section 2. Amend § 9802, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 9802. Definitions [Effective until July 17, 2028].

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: For purposes of this chapter:

(6) “Community paramedicine” means a form of mobile-integrated healthcare that is a provider-led, patient-centered delivery care model using appropriately trained paramedics or other emergency medical services providers in an expanded role to render care, facilitate a more efficient delivery of care, and enhance access to community resources that address the social determinants of health.

(19) “Mobile-integrated healthcare” means an expanded role for a paramedic or other emergency medical services provider that is a coordinated, patient-centered, evidence-based holistic model of care designed to use collaborative, interdisciplinary teams to serve patient needs at the most appropriate level of care at a safe location convenient to the patient.

(20) “Mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine medical director” means an individual who is employed to work in a mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine program and who meets the requirements to be a medical control physician or be board certified or eligible in the individual’s medical specialty.

(21) “Mobile resources” means the ability of a paramedic or other emergency medical services provider to connect directly with members of the healthcare team via technology, such as telehealth, that allows for real time discussion of the patient’s healthcare needs and possible visual examination of a specific concern.

(21)(25)a. “Pre-hospital care” shall mean means any emergency medical service, including advanced life support, rendered by an emergency medical unit before and during transportation to a hospital or other facility, and upon arrival at the facility until such care is assumed by the facility’s staff; staff.

b. “Pre-hospital care” does not include the care provided by a paramedic or other emergency medical services provider employed by a mobile-integrated healthcare or community paramedicine program.

(30) “Team-based, patient-centered delivery model” means a healthcare delivery model that includes multiple levels of providers to meet all of a patient’s needs and to promote wellness.

Section 3. Amend § 9802, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 9802. Definitions [Effective July 17, 2028].