HB2778eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2778 Engrossed LRB098 09574 DRJ 39720 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act is amended by changing Section 3.55 as follows:

(210 ILCS 50/3.55)

Sec. 3.55. Scope of practice.

(a) Any person currently licensed as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P may perform emergency and non-emergency medical services as defined in this Act, in accordance with his or her level of education, training and licensure, the standards of performance and conduct prescribed by the Department in rules adopted pursuant to this Act, and the requirements of the EMS System in which he or she practices, as contained in the approved Program Plan for that System. A currently licensed EMT may perform emergency and non-emergency medical services in accordance with his or her level of education, training, and licensure, regardless of the level (BLS, ILS, or ALS) of the ambulance to which he or she is assigned when performing those services.

(a-5) A person currently approved as a First Responder or licensed as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P who has successfully completed a Department approved course in automated defibrillator operation and who is functioning within a Department approved EMS System may utilize such automated defibrillator according to the standards of performance and conduct prescribed by the Department in rules adopted pursuant to this Act and the requirements of the EMS System in which he or she practices, as contained in the approved Program Plan for that System.

(a-7) A person currently licensed as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P who has successfully completed a Department approved course in the administration of epinephrine, shall be required to carry epinephrine with him or her as part of the EMT medical supplies whenever he or she is performing the duties of an emergency medical technician.

(b) A person currently licensed as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P may only practice as an EMT or utilize his or her EMT license in pre-hospital or inter-hospital emergency care settings or non-emergency medical transport situations, under the written or verbal direction of the EMS Medical Director. For purposes of this Section, a "pre-hospital emergency care setting" may include a location, that is not a health care facility, which utilizes EMTs to render pre-hospital emergency care prior to the arrival of a transport vehicle. The location shall include communication equipment and all of the portable equipment and drugs appropriate for the EMT's level of care, as required by this Act, rules adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act, and the protocols of the EMS Systems, and shall operate only with the approval and under the direction of the EMS Medical Director.

This Section shall not prohibit an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P from practicing within an emergency department or other health care setting for the purpose of receiving continuing education or training approved by the EMS Medical Director. This Section shall also not prohibit an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P from seeking credentials other than his or her EMT license and utilizing such credentials to work in emergency departments or other health care settings under the jurisdiction of that employer.

(c) A person currently licensed as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P may honor Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders and powers of attorney for health care only in accordance with rules adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act and protocols of the EMS System in which he or she practices.

(d) A student enrolled in a Department approved emergency medical technician program, while fulfilling the clinical training and in-field supervised experience requirements mandated for licensure or approval by the System and the Department, may perform prescribed procedures under the direct supervision of a physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches, a qualified registered professional nurse or a qualified EMT, only when authorized by the EMS Medical Director.

(Source: P.A. 92-376, eff. 8-15-01.)