New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 7 - HEALTH › Chapter 27 - EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES › Part 10 - CERTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AGENCIES › Section 7.27.10.16 - MEDICAL RESCUE AGENCIES

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
General requirements for all medical rescue agencies:
(1)
Certification required.
A
				medical rescue agency shall not provide treatment to any patient, nor shall a
				transport medical rescue agency transport any patient, unless the medical
				rescue agency holds a valid certificate in accordance with this rule.
(2)
Level of service.
Any
				medical rescue agency that represents itself as providing any EMS level of
				service shall make that level of service available.
(3)
Fees prohibited.
Medical
				rescue agencies shall not charge a fee to the patient. Nothing in this rule
				shall be construed to prevent a medical rescue agency from negotiating
				reimbursement agreements.
(4)
Hygiene and cleanliness.
Medical rescue agencies shall maintain
				clean and hygienic work environments, and shall adopt and implement reasonable
				infection control practices to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
				Medical rescue agencies shall properly maintain and dispose of all biohazard
				material.
(5)
Medical rescue
				emergency motor vehicles.
Medical rescue emergency motor vehicles shall
				provide safe and adequate service, and shall utilize equipment, supplies and
				facilities that are safe and adequate for the provision of emergency medical
				services and otherwise consistent with the requirements of this rule. Motor
				vehicles shall be safe, dependable and suitable for the services rendered. Each
				motor vehicle shall be maintained in good mechanical and operating condition.
				The bureau may remove from operation any medical rescue agency vehicle that the
				bureau determines to be either not road worthy or not response worthy.
				Transport-capable medical rescue vehicles shall be equipped with a heating,
				cooling and ventilation system capable of providing a reasonable level of
				comfort inside the motor vehicle.
(6)
Documentation.
EMS agencies
				certified under this rule shall annually submit to the bureau a certificate of
				safety for each of their medical rescue vehicles, to include the date, name,
				contact telephone number and location of the certified mechanic performing the
				inspection.
(7)
Drivers.
Any person who regularly drives a certified medical rescue
				(transport or non-transport) vehicle shall:
(a) be at least 18 years of age;
(b) hold a valid New Mexico driver's license
				or equivalent out-of-state driver's license, equivalent to a class "D" or
				higher;
(c) be in compliance with
				bureau requirements for an emergency vehicle operator's course;
(d) not have received a driving while
				intoxicated, driving under the influence, or reckless driving conviction within
				the past year;
(e) not be
				prohibited by law from driving without a breath alcohol ignition interlock
				device;
(f) not be prohibited by
				law from operating a motor vehicle for any other reason;
(g) annually provide to their EMS agency a
				copy of the person's motor vehicle driving record; the medical rescue agency
				shall validate and submit to the bureau a list of all drivers authorized by the
				agency together with the agency's annual report; all driver infractions
				resulting in the loss or potential loss of driving privileges shall be reported
				to the bureau.
(8)
Safety belts.
Safety belts shall be utilized by all persons in
				the forward compartment of emergency motor vehicles. Attending personnel shall
				wear seat belts when feasible. Safety belts or other safety restraining devices
				shall be available for patients being transported, and shall be utilized for
				patients at all times during patient transport, unless extenuating
				circumstances prevent their usage.
(9)
Child restraint systems.
Attending personnel shall utilize child restraint systems when feasible and
				necessary. Child restraint systems shall satisfy all federal and state
				requirements when in use.
(10)
Minimum personnel requirements.
All medical rescue agencies
				(transport and non-transport) shall maintain the following minimum personnel
				requirements during patient treatment and transportation:
(a) a minimum of one New Mexico licensed EMS
				provider shall be present at the scene of an emergency;
(b) for transport of a patient, a minimum of
				one qualified New Mexico-licensed EMS provider shall be present in the patient
				compartment of the medical rescue vehicle at all times while the compartment is
				occupied by a patient;
(c)
				healthcare personnel not licensed as an EMS provider may accompany and monitor
				a patient in the patient compartment of a medical rescue vehicle, provided that
				at least one qualified New Mexico-licensed EMS provider is also present in the
				patient compartment, subject to the policies of the EMS agency.
(11)
Mutual aid.
All
				medical rescue agencies (transport and non-transport) shall develop mutual aid
				plans with appropriate EMS agencies and PRC regulated ambulance services. A
				medical rescue agency may provide mutual aid to another EMS agency pursuant to
				a mutual aid agreement only in the event that the other agency cannot respond
				to a call for service, and only in the following circumstances:
(a) in mass casualty or disaster situations,
				when requested by state or local authorities in accordance with established
				local emergency plans;
(b) when
				requested by another EMS agency or a licensed EMS provider during an emergency
				and in accordance with established mutual aid agreements;
(c) when requested by a law enforcement
				agency or officer; or
(d) in a
				non-emergency, when the responsible local provider's resources are exhausted,
				pursuant to arrangements made by the responsible local provider for (and for
				the coordination of) such necessary mutual aid.
(12)
Unauthorized persons.
A
				medical rescue agency shall not transport any person who is not a patient
				(including but not limited to a hitchhiker), other than an on-duty employee of
				the medical rescue agency, a person authorized by the medical rescue agency to
				be transported, or a bureau representative on official business, unless the
				person's transport is necessitated by an emergency.
(13)
Accident reports.
Every
				medical rescue agency shall report to the bureau every accident that occurs in
				the course of the medical rescue agency's operations within the state on either
				public or private property that results in the death of a person, injury to a
				person that requires treatment by a physician, or damage to property belonging
				to either the medical rescue agency or any other person to an apparent extent
				of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) or more.
(a) In the event that an EMS vehicle operated
				by a medical rescue agency is involved in a collision that results in a
				person's death, the medical rescue agency shall, within twenty-four hours of
				learning of the person's death, submit a copy of the police report of the
				collision to the bureau.
(b) Police
				reports of all other collisions involving an EMS vehicle operated by a medical
				rescue agency shall be submitted to the bureau by the medical rescue agency no
				later than fifteen days after the date of the collision.
(c) If a medical rescue agency learns after
				submitting a police report to the bureau that an individual who was involved in
				a collision involving an EMS vehicle operated by the agency has died, the
				agency shall file an amended copy of the police report with the bureau no later
				than fifteen days after learning of the person's death.
(d) For the purposes of this section, a
				medical rescue agency that has submitted a uniform accident report of the
				collision to the motor vehicle division of the New Mexico taxation and revenue
				department may submit a copy of that report to the bureau instead of a police
				report; provided that the deadline for the submission to the bureau of a
				uniform accident report shall be the same as the deadline for the submission of
				a police report.