Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 46 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS › Part XLV - Medical Professions › Subpart 2 - Licensure and Certification › Chapter 25 - Respiratory Therapists › Subchapter A - General Provisions › Section XLV-2503 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. As used in this
					 Chapter, unless the context clearly states otherwise, the following terms and
					 phrases shall have the meanings specified.
Advisory Committee or Committee-
the
						Respiratory Therapy Advisory Committee, as established, appointed and organized
						pursuant to
						R.S.
						37:3356 of the Act.
American Association for Respiratory
						Care
or
AARC
-a professional society associated with
						the respiratory care profession or its successor.
Applicant
-a person who has applied to
						the board for a license or permit to practice respiratory therapy in this
						state.
Board
-the Louisiana State Board of
						Medical Examiners.
Certified Respiratory Therapist
-also
						known as a Certified Respiratory Therapy Technician prior to July 1, 1999,
						means one who is in good standing with, and has successfully completed the
						entry level credentialing examination or its successor administered by the
						National Board for Respiratory Care.
Chest Pulmonary Therapy (CPT)
-chest
						percussion, postural drainage, chest clapping, chest vibrations,
						bronchopulmonary hygiene and cupping, positive expiratory therapy (PEP), deep
						breathing/cough exercise, and inspiratory muscle training.
CoARC
-the Commission on Accreditation
						for Respiratory Care, or its successor or predecessor organizations.
Good Moral Character
-as applied to an
						applicant, means that an applicant has not, prior to or during the pendency of
						an application to the board, been guilty of any act, omission, condition or
						circumstance which would provide legal cause under
						R.S.
						37:3358 for the denial, suspension or
						revocation of respiratory care licensure; the applicant has not, prior to or in
						connection with his application, made any representation to the board,
						knowingly or unknowingly, which is in fact false or misleading as to material
						fact or omits to state any fact or matter that is material to the application;
						and the applicant has not made any representation or failed to make a
						representation or engaged in any act or omission which is false, deceptive,
						fraudulent or misleading in achieving or obtaining any of the qualifications
						for a license required by this Chapter.
License
-the lawful authority to engage
						in the practice of respiratory therapy in the state of Louisiana, as evidenced
						by a certificate duly issued by and under the official seal of the
						board.
Licensed Respiratory Therapist or LRT
-a
						person who is licensed by the board to practice respiratory therapy in
						Louisiana under the qualified medical direction and supervision of a licensed
						physician. The term
licensed respiratory therapist
shall be
						used to signify either a certified or registered respiratory therapist, or a
						person who was licensed by the board to practice respiratory care prior to
						1991.
Medical Gases
-gases commonly used in a
						respiratory care department in the calibration of respiratory care equipment
						and in the diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic management of diseases,
						including but not restricted to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, compressed
						air, helium, nitric oxide, nitrogen, and oxygen.
National Board for Respiratory Care
or
NBRC
-the official national credentialing board of the
						profession, or its successor.
Nontraditional Respiratory Care Education
						Program
-a program of studies primarily through correspondence with
						tutorial assistance and with a clinical component comparable to a traditional
						program.
Physician
-a person who is currently
						licensed by the board to practice medicine in the state of Louisiana.
Registered Respiratory Therapist
-one who
						is currently in good standing with, and has successfully completed the advanced
						practitioner registry credentialing examination or its successor administered
						by the National Board for Respiratory Care.
Respiratory Care
-is synonymous with the
						term
respiratory therapy
as defined in this Chapter.
Respiratory Care Education Program
-a
						program of respiratory therapy studies accredited by the Commission on the
						Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC), or its predecessor or successor
						organizations, including programs formerly accredited by the Commission on
						Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) in collaboration
						with CoARC.
Respiratory Therapy
-the allied health
						specialty practiced under the direction and supervision of a physician
						involving the assessment, treatment, testing, monitoring, and care of persons
						with deficiencies and abnormalities of the cardiopulmonary system. Such therapy
						includes, but is not limited to, the following activities conducted upon the
						prescription or other order of a physician, advanced practice registered nurse,
						or physician assistant howsoever communicated and duly recorded:
a. application and monitoring of oxygen therapy, invasive
						and non-invasive ventilatory therapy, mechanical ventilation, bronchial hygiene
						therapy and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and resuscitation;
b. insertion and care of natural and artificial
						airways;
c. institution of any type of physiologic monitoring
						applicable to respiratory care, including but not limited to cardiopulmonary
						and neurological processes related to such diseases;
d. insertion and care of peripheral arterial
						lines;
e. administration of non-controlled drugs and medications
						commonly used in respiratory care that have been dispensed by a pharmacist and
						prescribed by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician
						assistant to be administered by a licensed respiratory therapist as defined in
						this Chapter. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to authorize the
						administration of sedatives, hypnotics, anesthetics or paralytic agents, or
						intravenous administration of medications, with the exception of the
						administration of medications necessary during cardiopulmonary arrest by a
						licensed respiratory therapist certified in advanced cardiac life support
						(ACLS), pediatric advanced life support (PALS), or in a neonatal resuscitation
						program (NRP);
f. pulmonary assessment, testing techniques, and therapy
						modification required for the implementation of physician-approved respiratory
						care protocols;
g. administration of medical gases and environmental
						control systems and their apparatus, including hyperbaric oxygen
						therapy;
h. administration of humidity and aerosol therapy;
i. application of chest pulmonary therapy and associated
						broncho-pulmonary hygiene techniques;
j. institution of physician-approved, patient-driven
						respiratory therapy protocols in emergency situations in the absence of a
						physician;
k. supervision of students;
l. performance of specific procedures and diagnostic
						testing relative to respiratory therapy that are ordered by a physician,
						advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant to assist in
						diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and research, including:
i. drawing of arterial, venous, and capillary blood
						samples and other body fluids for analysis to determine laboratory values to be
						performed on blood gas instrumentation;
ii. collection of sputum and other body fluids for
						analysis;
iii. procedures involved in patient preparation and
						assisting a physician who is in attendance with invasive procedures related to
						respiratory therapy, including but not limited to bronchoscopy, chest tube
						insertion, and tracheotomy;
iv. measurement of expired gases in the performance of
						cardiopulmonary function tests common to respiratory therapy; and
v. starting of intravenous lines for the purpose of
						administering fluids pertinent to the practice of respiratory therapy in a
						special procedure area under the order of a physician, advanced practice
						registered nurse, or a physician assistant;
m. transcription and implementation of physician,
						advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant orders pertinent to
						the practice of respiratory therapy to be provided by a licensed respiratory
						therapist; and
n. instruction of patient, family, and caregivers in the
						prevention, management, and therapeutic modalities related to respiratory
						therapy for patients in any setting.
Respiratory Therapy Practice Act
or the
						Act-R.S. 37:3351-3361, as amended.
United States Government
-any department,
						agency or bureau of the United States Armed Forces or Veterans
						Administration.
B. Masculine
					 terms wherever used in this Chapter shall also be deemed to include the
					 feminine.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
						Promulgated in accordance with
						R.S.
						37:1270(B)(6) and
						37:3351-3361.