35 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Chapter 81 - Emergency Medical Services System

• Chapter Notes

Subchapter A.  Preliminary Provisions

• Section 8101 - Short Title Of Chapter
  This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Emergency Medical Services System Act.
• Section 8102 - Declaration Of Policy
  The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: (1) Emergency medical services are an essential public service and frequently the health care safety net...
• Section 8103 - Definitions
  The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly...
• Section 8104 - Emergency Medical Services System Programs
  (a) Planning and coordination.--The department shall plan, guide and coordinate programs on the following matters to promote effective and efficient operation of Statewide and...
• Section 8105 - Duties Of Department
  (a) Duty.--It shall be the duty of the department to assist in the development of local EMS systems; plan, guide and coordinate the development...
• Section 8106 - Emergency Medical Services Patient Care Reports
  (a) Preparation.--An EMS agency shall ensure that its responding EMS providers complete an EMS patient care report for each response made in which it...
• Section 8107 - Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation
  (a) Trauma center accreditation.--The foundation shall develop a private voluntary accreditation program to: (1) Establish standards for the operation of trauma centers that receive...
• Section 8108 - State Advisory Board
  (a) Designation and composition.--The board shall be composed of volunteer, professional and paraprofessional organizations involved in EMS. The board shall be geographically representative of...
• Section 8109 - Regional Emergency Medical Services Councils
  (a) Purpose.--Regional EMS councils shall assist the department in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Each regional EMS council shall adhere to policy...

Subchapter B.  Program

• Section 8111 - Comprehensive Plan
  (a) Preparation.-- (1) The department, with the assistance of the board, shall prepare a Statewide EMS system plan, which plan shall include both short-range...
• Section 8112 - Contracts And Grants
  (a) General power.--The department may enter into contracts or grants with entities to serve as regional EMS councils responsible for the initiation, expansion, maintenance...
• Section 8113 - Emergency Medical Services Providers
  (a) Certification.--The department shall issue certifications for the following types of EMS providers, which shall be permanent, subject to disciplinary action pursuant to section...
• Section 8114 - Emergency Medical Responders
  (a) Scope of practice.--An EMR performs for an EMS agency BLS skills involving basic interventions with minimum EMS equipment as follows: (1) As a...
• Section 8115 - Emergency Medical Technicians
  (a) Scope of practice.--An EMT performs basic EMS skills involving basic interventions and equipment found on an EMS vehicle as follows: (1) For an...
• Section 8116 - Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians
  (a) Scope of practice.--An advanced EMT performs basic EMS and ALS skills which include interventions and administration of medications with basic and advanced equipment...
• Section 8117 - Paramedics
  (a) Scope of practice.--A paramedic is a higher-level EMS provider than an advanced EMT. A paramedic performs basic and advanced EMS skills which include...
• Section 8118 - Prehospital Registered Nurses
  (a) Scope of practice.--A PHRN is a higher-level EMS provider than an advanced EMT. A PHRN performs for an EMS agency basic and advanced...
• Section 8119 - Prehospital Physician Extenders
  (a) Scope of practice.--A PHPE is a higher-level EMS provider than an advanced EMT. A PHPE performs for an EMS agency basic and advanced...
• Section 8120 - Prehospital Emergency Medical Services Physicians
  (a) Scope of practice.--A prehospital EMS physician is a higher-level EMS provider than an advanced EMT. A prehospital EMS physician performs for an EMS...
• Section 8121 - Certification Sanctions
  (a) Grounds for discipline.--The department may discipline an EMS provider or applicant for EMS provider certification for any of the following reasons: (1) Lack...
• Section 8122 - Emergency Medical Services Vehicle Operators
  (a) Certification.--An EMS vehicle operator certification shall be permanent, subject to disciplinary action under this section. The department shall certify as an EMS vehicle...
• Section 8123 - Suspension Of Certification
  (a) Temporary suspensions.--The department may temporarily suspend the certification of an EMS provider or EMS vehicle operator without a hearing if the department determines...
• Section 8124 - Emergency Medical Services Instructors
  (a) Certification.--An EMS instructor's certification is permanently subject to disciplinary action under this section. The department shall certify as an EMS instructor a person...
• Section 8125 - Medical Director Of Emergency Medical Services Agency
  (a) Qualifications.--To qualify and continue to function as an EMS agency medical director, an individual shall: (1) Be a physician. (2) Satisfy one of...
• Section 8126 - Medical Command Physicians And Facility Medical Directors
  § 8126. Medical command physicians and facility medical directors. (a) Role of medical command physician.--A medical command physician communicates with and issues medical command...
• Section 8127 - Medical Command Facilities
  (a) Certification required.--To operate as a medical command facility, a medical unit must be certified by the department as a medical command facility. The...
• Section 8128 - Receiving Facilities
  (a) Purpose.--A receiving facility is a facility to which an ambulance may transport a patient who requires prompt medical care in addition to that...
• Section 8129 - Emergency Medical Services Agencies
  (a) License required.--A person may not, as an owner, agent or otherwise, operate, conduct, maintain, advertise or otherwise engage in or profess to be...
• Section 8130 - Advanced Life Support Ambulances
  (a) Purpose.--An ALS ambulance crew provides medical assessment, triage, monitoring, treatment, transportation and observation of patients who require EMS above the skill level of...
• Section 8131 - Air Ambulances
  (a) Purpose.--An air ambulance is a rotorcraft staffed by a crew that provides medical assessment, treatment, monitoring, observation and transportation of patients who require...
• Section 8132 - Advanced Life Support Squad Vehicles
  (a) Purpose.--An ALS squad vehicle transports EMS providers above the advanced EMT level, along with equipment and supplies, to rendezvous with an ambulance crew...
• Section 8133 - Basic Life Support Ambulances
  (a) Purpose.--A BLS ambulance crew provides medical assessment, triage, monitoring, treatment, transportation and observation of patients who require EMS at or below the skill...
• Section 8134 - Basic Life Support Squad Vehicles
  (a) Purpose.--A BLS squad vehicle transports an EMS provider, along with basic EMS equipment and supplies, to respond prior to arrival of an ambulance...
• Section 8135 - Quick Response Services
  (a) Purpose.--A QRS uses EMS providers to respond to calls for EMS and provide EMS to patients before an ambulance arrives. (b) Staffing requirements.--The...
• Section 8136 - Special Operations Emergency Medical Services
  (a) Purpose.--A special operations EMS service provides EMS in situations or austere environments that require specialized knowledge, equipment or vehicles to access a patient...
• Section 8137 - First Aid And Other Safety Services
  (a) Purpose.--An EMS agency may provide EMS at industrial sites, amusement parks or other locations in need of the service. No ambulance or other...
• Section 8138 - Other Vehicles And Services
  The department may by regulation prescribe EMS vehicle and service standards for EMS vehicles and services not specified in this chapter. If the department...
• Section 8139 - Stretcher And Wheelchair Vehicles
  (a) Stretcher vehicle.--A stretcher vehicle is a ground vehicle other than an ambulance that is utilized to transport by stretcher persons who do not...
• Section 8140 - Conditional Temporary Licenses
  When an EMS agency or an applicant for a license to operate as an EMS agency does not provide service 24 hours per day...
• Section 8141 - Plans Of Correction
  (a) Correction of violation.--Upon determining that an EMS agency has violated this chapter or regulations promulgated under this chapter, the department may issue a...
• Section 8142 - Emergency Medical Services Agency License Sanctions
  (a) Grounds for discipline.--The department may discipline an EMS agency or, as applicable, refuse to issue an EMS agency license for any of the...

Subchapter C.  Miscellaneous Provisions

• Section 8151 - Limitations On Liability
  The following shall apply: (1) No medical command physician, medical command facility medical director or medical command facility, which in good faith provides a...
• Section 8152 - Peer Review
  (a) Immunity from liability.-- (1) A person who provides information to a review organization shall have the same protections from civil and criminal liability...
• Section 8153 - Support Of Emergency Medical Services
  (a) Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund.--There is established a special fund to be known as the Emergency Medical Services Operating Fund, which shall be...
• Section 8154 - Prohibited Acts
  (a) Making false ambulance requests.--It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally report a medical emergency and summon an EMS response if the...
• Section 8155 - Surrender Of License, Accreditation Or Certification
  The department shall require a person whose license, accreditation or certification has been suspended or revoked under this chapter to return to the department...
• Section 8156 - Penalties
  (a) Unlicensed agency.--A person who operates a service or vehicle for which a license is required under section 8129 (relating to emergency medical services...
• Section 8157 - Adjudications And Judicial Review
  Except as provided under this chapter for an emergency suspension, the department shall hold hearings and issue adjudications in accordance with 2 Pa.C.S. (relating...

Last modified: October 8, 2016