Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 19 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SENIOR SERVICES › Division 30 - Division of Regulation and Licensure › Chapter 40 - Comprehensive Emergency Medical Services Systems Regulations › Section 19 CSR 30-40.047 - Mandatory Notice to Emergency Response Personnel of Possible Exposure to Communicable Diseases

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule establishes an inquiry and notice
				  procedure to be followed by receiving medical facility personnel concerning the
				  possibility of exposure to communicable diseases by emergency response
				  personnel and good samaritans.
(1) The following definitions shall be used
				in the interpretation of this rule:
(A)
				Aerosols mean tiny invisible particles or droplet nuclei usually less than ten
				(10) micrometers in diameter, which float on air currents and are capable of
				being suspended in air for a considerable period of time and are not to be
				confused with droplet as defined in subsection (1)(F) of this rule;
(B) Airborne transmission means
				person-to-person transmission of infectious organisms through the air by means
				of droplet nuclei;
(C) Bloodborne
				transmission means person-to-person transmission of an infectious agent through
				contact with an infected person's blood or other body fluids;
(D) Communicable disease means an infectious
				disease transmitted by a significant exposure as defined in subsections (2)(A)-
				(E) of this rule, and examples of likely communicable diseases for
				investigation for possible significant exposures are-
1. Airborne diseases-pulmonary tuberculosis
				(
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
) and measles;
2. Bloodborne diseases-Hepatitis B and C and
				human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection including acquired
				immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS);
3. Droplet spread diseases-rubella,
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
, and
Neisseria
				meningitides
; and
4.
				Uncommon or rare diseases-hemor-rhagic fevers including Lassa, Marburg, Ebola
				and Congo-Crimean; plague (
Yersinia pestis
); and
				rabies;
(E) Designated
				officer means a city or county health department officer, or his/her designee,
				appointed by the director of the Department of Health or his/her designee. The
				designated officer's designee may be, at local option, a person associated with
				an ambulance service, fire department or other enforcement agency; the
				designated officer may appoint multiple designees as needed;
(F) Droplets mean large particles of moisture
				that rapidly settle out on horizontal surfaces and originate from talking,
				sneezing or coughing;
(G) Droplet
				spread means brief passage of an infectious agent through the air, usually
				within three feet (3') of the source;
(H) Emergency means a sudden or unforeseen
				situation or occurrence that requires immediate action to save life or to
				prevent suffering or disability; the determination of the existence of the
				emergency can be made either by the patient/victim or by any emergency response
				personnel (ERP) or good samaritan on the scene;
(I) Emergency response personnel (ERP) means
				firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, emergency medical
				technicians, first responders and other persons including employees of legally
				organized and recognized volunteer organizations-regardless of whether the
				individuals receive compensation-who, in the course of professional duties,
				respond to emergencies;
(J)
				Exposure or significant exposure means an ERP or good samaritan has experienced
				a possible risk of becoming infected with a communicable disease(s) including
				those identified in paragraphs (1)(D)1.-4. of this rule by a means identified
				in subsections (2)(A)-(E) of this rule;
(K) Good samaritans mean individuals that are
				not ERPs that provide emergency medical assistance or aid until ERPs
				arrive;
(L) Medical facility means
				a health care facility licensed under Chapter 197, RSMo or a state medical
				facility;
(M) Pathogen means any
				disease-producing microorganism;
(N) Patient means the victim of an emergency
				who has been aided by an ERP or good samaritan;
(O) Potentially life-threatening communicable
				disease means an infectious disease which can cause death in a susceptible
				host; and
(P) Universal precautions
				means an approach to infection prevention and control that requires all human
				blood and certain human body fluids to be treated as if infectious for HIV,
				hepatitis B virus (HBV), and other bloodborne pathogens.