2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111c - Emergency Medical Services System › Section 2 - Statewide Ems System; Expectations; Purpose

Section 2. The department, with the assistance of interested parties that are part of the state's EMS system, including, without limitation, the regional EMS councils, shall plan, guide and coordinate programs to ensure that the state's EMS system shall:
(1) provide necessary EMS, using appropriate elements of the EMS system, to ensure adequate and appropriate EMS for all persons requiring the services, including, without limitation, all special populations, as an integral part of the EMS system, ensuring that the special needs of children and other special populations are recognized and provided for, and that services meeting their needs are integrated into the EMS system;
(2) include an adequate number of EMS personnel with appropriate training and experience;
(3) include an adequate number of EMS vehicles of appropriate types to meet the individual characteristics of the various regions such that:
(i) the EMS vehicles meet criteria relating to location, design, performance and equipment; and
(ii) all operators and other EMS personnel staffing the EMS vehicles meet appropriate training requirements;
(4) include an adequate number of accessible hospitals which:
(i) are collectively capable of providing an optimal level of EMS on a continual basis;
(ii) have appropriate capabilities categorized by type or scope of service;
(iii) meet appropriate standards relating to capacity, location, personnel and equipment;
(iv) are coordinated with other hospitals; and
(v) are integrated into the state's EMS system, provided that nothing in paragraph (4) shall be construed to authorize any licensure requirements or prerequisites not explicitly authorized by other statutory authority;
(5) provide for access, including appropriate transportation, to appropriate health care facilities as defined in regulations promulgated by the department, including, without limitation, trauma centers, in each region or, if there are no centers or an inadequate number of centers in a region, provide for access to the centers in neighboring regions in accordance with applicable regulations;
(6) provide, as necessary, for timely inter-facility transportation of patients to hospitals, and to other facilities or programs which offer follow-up care and rehabilitation, in order to optimize utilization of available facilities;
(7) provide for the effective utilization of the appropriate personnel, facilities and equipment of each entity providing EMS;
(8) join EMS providers, facilities, EMS vehicles and equipment, coordinated by a statewide communication system, which system shall include a 911 access subsystem, an EMS response subsystem and a medical communications subsystem, developed by the department in conjunction with the board, the state 911 department and other appropriate agencies, so that requests for EMS will be handled by communications facilities which:
(i) utilize emergency telecommunications screening to determine the appropriate EMS response and to provide pre-arrival instructions to callers;
(ii) are accessible to the general public through a commonly known emergency telephone number and, where feasible, the universal emergency telephone number 911; and
(iii) will have direct communications with the appropriate EMS personnel, emergency medical services vehicles and equipment of the EMS system;
(9) provide for a medical communications subsystem within the statewide EMS communications system, to provide without limitation:
(i) EMS-vehicles-to-hospital communications linkage;
(ii) on-line medical direction;
(iii) mass casualty incident resource management; and
(iv) inter-agency coordination;
(10) provide for continuous training for its EMS personnel, including clinical training and continuing education programs, which are coordinated with other programs which provide similar training and education;
(11) provide for planning and coordination and implementation of planning and coordination to ensure that the EMS system in each region will be capable of providing coordinated EMS in that region during mass casualty incidents, natural disasters, mass meetings and other large scale events and declared states of emergency. Each such plan shall address, at a minimum, uniform terminology; training requirements; interaction and integration with other relevant local, state and federal agencies and health care providers; and transportation to health care facilities that can provide definitive care;
(12) provide for programs of public education, information and prevention in each region taking into account the needs of residents of and visitors to that region to prevent illness and injury and to know means of obtaining EMS and such programs shall also take into account the health status of each region;
(13) provide for a standardized patient data collection system which covers all phases of the EMS system. This system shall include, but shall not be limited to, information needed to review access, availability, quality, cost and third party reimbursement for EMS;
(14) provide for:
(i) periodic comprehensive review and evaluation of the EMS provided in each region, including, without limitation, annual reports by each regional EMS council which reports shall include the projected costs of performing the services in each region pursuant to this chapter;
(ii) submission to the department of the reports of such review and evaluation;
(15) provide for the services and equipment necessary to ensure adequate and appropriate EMS for all persons requiring the services including, without limitation, children and other special populations and integrate such services and equipment into the statewide EMS system.
(16) provide for mobile integrated health programs that are also the primary ambulance service for a jurisdiction to avert emergency calls for EMS from emergency departments when care is more appropriate in a non-emergency department setting, provided, however, that: (i) the care shall occur with qualified medical direction; (ii) the mobile integrated health program shall be approved by the department pursuant to chapter 111O; and (iii) each mobile integrated health program's emergency department aversion protocols shall be approved by the department.