Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 10 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Part 4 › Subtitle 32 - BOARD OF PHYSICIANS › Chapter 10.32.11 - Licensing of Respiratory Care Practitioners › Section 10.32.11.09 - Scope of Practice, Identification, and Change in Name or Address

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. A respiratory
				  care practitioner may practice only under the supervision of and in
				  collaboration with a physician.
B.
				  The practice of respiratory care includes the following:
(1) Direct and indirect respiratory care
				  services that are safe, aseptic, preventive, and restorative to the
				  patient;
(2) The practice of the
				  principles, techniques, and theories derived from cardiopulmonary
				  medicine;
(3) Evaluation and
				  treatment of individuals whose cardiopulmonary functions have been threatened
				  or impaired by developmental defects, the aging process, physical injury,
				  disease, or actual or anticipated dysfunction of the cardiopulmonary
				  system;
(4) Observation and
				  monitoring of physical signs and symptoms, general behavior, and general
				  physical response to respiratory care procedures, and determination of whether
				  initiation, modification, or discontinuation of the treatment regimen is
				  warranted;
(5) The transcription
				  and implementation of a written or oral order, or both, pertaining to the
				  practice of respiratory care;
(6)
				  Evaluation techniques including cardiopulmonary functional assessments, gas
				  exchange, the need and effectiveness of therapeutic modalities and procedures,
				  and assessment and evaluation of the need for extended care and home care
				  procedures, therapy, and equipment;
(7) Professional application of techniques,
				  equipment, and procedures involved in the administration of respiratory care
				  such as:
(a) Therapeutic and diagnostic gases
				  (excluding general anesthesia);
(b)
				  Prescribed medications for inhalation or direct tracheal
				  instillation;
(c) The
				  administration of prescribed analgesic agents including substances listed in
				  Schedule IV as defined in Criminal Law Article, §
												5-405, Annotated Code of
				  Maryland, by subcutaneous injection or inhalation for the performance of
				  respiratory care procedures;
(d)
				  Nonsurgical intubation, maintenance, and extubation of artificial
				  airways;
(e) Advanced
				  cardiopulmonary measures;
(f) Chest
				  needle decompression;
(g)
				  Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation;
(h)
				  Mechanical ventilation or physiological life support systems;
(i) Collection of body fluids and blood
				  samples for evaluation and analysis, including collection by intraosseous
				  access;
(j) Insertion of diagnostic
				  arterial access lines, including large bore intravenous access; and
(k) Collection and analysis of exhaled
				  respiratory gases;
(8)
				  The clinical supervision of licensed respiratory care practitioners,
				  respiratory care departments, or the provision of any respiratory care
				  services; and
(9) The respiratory
				  care clinical instruction or oversight of respiratory care students, while
				  performing respiratory care procedures as part of their clinical
				  curriculum.