147A.8 - AUTHORITY OF CERTIFIED EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE PROVIDER.
147A.8 AUTHORITY OF CERTIFIED EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE
PROVIDER.
1. An emergency medical care provider properly certified under
this subchapter may:
a. Render emergency and nonemergency medical care, rescue,
and lifesaving services in those areas for which the emergency
medical care provider is certified, as defined and approved in
accordance with the rules of the department, at the scene of an
emergency, during transportation to a hospital or while in the
hospital emergency department, and until care is directly assumed by
a physician or by authorized hospital personnel.
b. Function in any hospital or any other entity in which
health care is ordinarily provided only when under the direct
supervision, as defined by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, of
a physician, when:
(1) Enrolled as a student or participating as a preceptor in a
training program approved by the department; or
(2) Fulfilling continuing education requirements as defined by
rule; or
(3) Employed by or assigned to a hospital or other entity in
which health care is ordinarily provided only when under the direct
supervision of a physician, as a member of an authorized ambulance,
rescue, or first response service, or in an individual capacity, by
rendering lifesaving services in the facility in which employed or
assigned pursuant to the emergency medical care provider's
certification and under the direct supervision of a physician,
physician assistant, or registered nurse. An emergency medical care
provider shall not routinely function without the direct supervision
of a physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse. However,
when the physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse cannot
directly assume emergency care of the patient, the emergency medical
care provider may perform without direct supervision emergency
medical care procedures for which that individual is certified if the
life of the patient is in immediate danger and such care is required
to preserve the patient's life; or
(4) Employed by or assigned to a hospital or other entity in
which health care is ordinarily provided only when under the direct
supervision of a physician, as a member of an authorized ambulance,
rescue, or first response service, or in an individual capacity, to
perform nonlifesaving procedures for which those individuals have
been certified and are designated in a written job description. Such
procedures may be performed after the patient is observed by and when
the emergency medical care provider is under the supervision of the
physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse, including when
the registered nurse is not acting in the capacity of a physician
designee, and where the procedure may be immediately abandoned
without risk to the patient.
2. Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to require any
voluntary ambulance, rescue, or first response service to provide a
level of care beyond minimum basic care standards. Section History: Early Form
[C79, 81, § 147A.8] Section History: Recent Form
84 Acts, ch 1287, § 8; 89 Acts, ch 89, §11; 93 Acts, ch 58, § 5,
7; 93 Acts, ch 107, § 1; 95 Acts, ch 41, §17; 99 Acts, ch 141, §24;
2000 Acts, ch 1009, §1; 2001 Acts, ch 58, §10; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §263