Florida Statutes 401.265 – Medical directors
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 401.265
- Advanced life support: means assessment or treatment by a person qualified under this part through the use of techniques such as endotracheal intubation, the administration of drugs or intravenous fluids, telemetry, cardiac monitoring, cardiac defibrillation, and other techniques described in the EMT-Paramedic National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS Education Standards, pursuant to rules of the department. See Florida Statutes 401.23
- Basic life support: means the assessment or treatment by a person qualified under this part through the use of techniques described in the EMT-Basic National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS Education Standards of the United States Department of Transportation and approved by the department. See Florida Statutes 401.23
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 401.23
- Emergency medical technician: means a person who is certified by the department to perform basic life support pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
- Medical director: means a physician who is employed or contracted by a licensee and who provides medical supervision, including appropriate quality assurance but not including administrative and managerial functions, for daily operations and training pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
- Paramedic: means a person who is certified by the department to perform basic and advanced life support pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Physician: means a practitioner who is licensed under the provisions of chapter 458 or chapter 459. See Florida Statutes 401.23
(1) Each basic life support transportation service or advanced life support service must employ or contract with a medical director. The medical director must be a licensed physician; a corporation, association, or partnership composed of physicians; or physicians employed by any hospital that delivers in-hospital emergency medical services and employs or contracts with physicians specifically for that purpose. Such a hospital, physician, corporation, association, or partnership must designate one physician from that organization to be medical director at any given time. The medical director must supervise and assume direct responsibility for the medical performance of the emergency medical technicians and paramedics operating for that emergency medical services system. The medical director must perform duties including advising, consulting, training, counseling, and overseeing of services, including appropriate quality assurance but not including administrative and managerial functions.
(2) Each medical director shall establish a quality assurance committee to provide for quality assurance review of all emergency medical technicians and paramedics operating under his or her supervision. If the medical director has reasonable belief that conduct by an emergency medical technician or paramedic may constitute one or more grounds for discipline as provided by this part, he or she shall document facts and other information related to the alleged violation. The medical director shall report to the department any emergency medical technician or paramedic whom the medical director reasonably believes to have acted in a manner which might constitute grounds for disciplinary action. Such a report of disciplinary concern must include a statement and documentation of the specific acts of the disciplinary concern. Within 7 days after receipt of such a report, the department shall provide the emergency medical technician or paramedic a copy of the report of the disciplinary concern and documentation of the specific acts related to the disciplinary concern. If the department determines that the report is insufficient for disciplinary action against the emergency medical technician or paramedic pursuant to s. 401.411, the report shall be expunged from the record of the emergency medical technician or paramedic.
(3) Any medical director who in good faith gives oral or written instructions to certified emergency medical services personnel for the provision of emergency care shall be deemed to be providing emergency medical care or treatment for the purposes of s. 768.13(2).
(4) Each medical director who uses a paramedic or emergency medical technician to perform blood pressure screening, health promotion, and wellness activities, or to administer immunization on any patient under a protocol as specified in s. 401.272, which is not in the provision of emergency care, is liable for any act or omission of any paramedic or emergency medical technician acting under his or her supervision and control when performing such services.
(5) The department shall adopt and enforce all rules necessary to administer this section.