New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 7 - HEALTH › Chapter 27 - EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES › Part 10 - CERTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AGENCIES › Section 7.27.10.7 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
"Air
				ambulance service"
means any governmental or private service that
				provides air transportation specifically designed to accommodate the medical
				needs of a person who is ill, injured or otherwise mentally or physically
				incapacitated and who requires in-flight medical supervision.
B.
"Applicant"
means an
				applicant for EMS agency certification under this rule.
C.
"Bureau"
means the emergency
				medical systems bureau of the epidemiology and response division, of the
				department of health.
D.
"Call routing"
means the reception of emergency calls where the purpose
				is to only determine the course of direction of routing (police, fire, and
				medical) resulting in rapid transfer of medical callers to the emergency
				medical dispatch agency or the emergency medical dispatch call taker for
				emergency medical dispatching.
E.
"Certificated ambulance service"
means a publicly or privately
				owned entity holding a current certificate from the New Mexico public
				regulation commission that identifies it as an emergency response ambulance
				service, and that is subject to the rules of the public regulation commission
				or its successor agency.
F.
"Commission on the accreditation of ambulance services (CAAS)"
means the
				national accrediting organization that establishes ambulance industry standards
				and evaluates ambulance services based upon those standards.
G.
"Committee on accreditation of
				educational programs for the EMS professions (CoAEMSP)"
means the
				national accrediting organization that establishes standards for educational
				programs for EMS professions, and that evaluates training programs based on
				those standards.
H.
"Commission on the accreditation of medical transport systems (CAMTS)"
means the national accrediting organization that establishes industry standards
				and evaluates air and ground ambulance services based upon those
				standards.
I.
"Conviction"
means a plea or adjudication of guilt, a plea of
nolo contendre
, an
Alford
plea, or any plea
				or adjudication that results in a conditional discharge or a suspended or
				deferred conviction.
J.
"Days"
means calendar days, unless otherwise specified.
K.
"Department"
means the New
				Mexico department of health.
L.
"Department of transportation (DOT)"
means the federal department
				of transportation.
M.
"Emergency"
means an individual's need for immediate medical care to
				prevent loss of life or aggravation of physical or psychological illness or
				injury.
N.
"Emergency
				medical dispatch"
means the reception, evaluation, processing, and
				provision of dispatch life support, management of requests for emergency
				medical assistance, and participation in ongoing evaluation and improvement of
				the emergency medical dispatch process. The emergency medical dispatch process
				is not limited to call routing only, but includes identifying the nature of the
				request, prioritizing the severity of the request, dispatching the necessary
				resources, providing medical aid and safety instructions to the callers, and
				coordinating the responding resources as needed.
O.
"Emergency medical dispatch agency
				(EMDA)"
means any organization, or a combination of organizations
				working cooperatively, that routinely accepts calls for emergency medical
				assistance and employs emergency medical dispatch priority reference system
				(EMDPRS) techniques.
P.
"Emergency medical dispatch priority reference system (EMDPRS)"
means a
				bureau approved reference system used by an emergency medical dispatch agency
				(EMDA) to dispatch aid to medical emergencies, which includes systemized caller
				interrogation; systemized pre-arrival instructions to the caller based upon
				protocols matching the dispatcher's evaluation of injury or illness severity;
				and prioritized vehicle response.
Q.
"Emergency medical dispatcher
				(EMD)"
means a provider who is trained and licensed pursuant to the EMS
				Act, NMSA 1978, Section
				24-10B-4 F, to
				receive calls for emergency medical assistance, provide pre-arrival medical
				instructions, dispatch emergency medical assistance and coordinate its
				response.
R.
"Emergency
				medical service(s) (EMS)"
means the medical services rendered by
				licensed providers in response to an emergency.
S.
"Emergency medical services agency
				(EMS agency, agency)"
means an organization that provides emergency
				medical services. EMS agencies include emergency medical dispatch agencies,
				pre-hospital agencies with defined geographical boundaries for their response,
				inter-facility care agencies, and special event EMS agencies organized to
				provide emergency medical services. For the purposes of disciplinary actions
				taken pursuant to the enforcement provisions of this rule, unless otherwise
				specified, actions taken by an "EMS agency" shall include actions taken by EMS
				agency personnel and its medical director(s).
T.
"Emergency medical technician
				(EMT)"
means a provider who has been licensed by the department to
				provide patient care in accordance with the current EMS scopes of practice
				(7.27.2.14 NMAC).
U.
"Emergency medical service agency certification (EMS agency certification,
				certification, certificate)"
means a legal document issued to an EMS
				agency by the department as evidence that the applicant meets the requirements
				for certification to operate an EMS agency in accordance with this
				rule.
V.
"EMS bureau
				(bureau)"
means the emergency medical systems bureau of the epidemiology
				and response division of the New Mexico department of health, and includes the
				bureau's agents.
W.
"EMS
				first responder (first responder)"
means a provider who has been
				licensed by the department to provide initial patient care in accordance with
				the current EMS scopes of practice (7.27.2.14 NMAC).
X.
"EMS Act (Act)"
means the
				Emergency Medical Services Act, NMSA 1978, Section
				24-10B-1
et seq
.
Y.
"EMS fund"
means the fund established by the EMS Fund Act, NMSA 1978,
				Section
				24-10A-1
et seq
., that is administered by the department of
				health.
Z.
"EMS Fund
				Act"
means the Emergency Medical Services Fund Act, NMSA 1978, Section
				24-10A-1
et seq.
AA.
"EMS medical director (medical director)"
means a physician licensed in
				New Mexico who is responsible for all aspects of patient care for an EMS system
				or EMS agency, including providing for or ensuring the medical control of EMS
				providers; the development, implementation, and evaluation of medical
				protocols; emergency medical dispatch; and oversight of quality assurance
				activities.
BB.
"GSA
				standards"
means the minimum standards and specifications for ambulances
				contained in the United States general services administration (GSA) standard
				KKK-A-1822F or most current GSA standard.
CC.
"Level of care"
means the
				most advanced level of emergency medical services that an emergency medical
				technician (EMT) is permitted to administer in accordance with the most current
				NM EMS scopes of practice.
DD.
"Level of service"
means the most advanced level of emergency
				medical service at which an EMS agency is certified to function in accordance
				with this rule.
EE.
"Medical
				control"
means EMS supervision provided by or under the direction of
				physicians to providers by written protocol or direct communication.
FF.
"Medical direction"
means
				guidance or supervision provided by a physician to an agency, provider or
				emergency medical services system and includes authority over and
				responsibility for emergency medical dispatch, direct patient care and
				transport of patients, arrangements for medical control and all other aspects
				of patient care delivered by an EMS provider or agency.
GG.
"Medical direction
				committee"
means the committee of physicians and emergency medical
				technicians created under the EMS Act, at NMSA 1978, Section
				24-10B-7
				C, whose members are appointed by the secretary to advise the bureau on all
				matters relating to medical control and medical direction.
HH.
"Medical protocol"
means a
				predetermined, written medical care plan and includes standing orders from a
				medical director.
II.
"Mutual aid"
means aid provided pursuant to a written agreement between
				one municipality, county or private EMS agency and one or more other
				municipalities, counties or private EMS agencies for the purpose of ensuring
				that adequate emergency medical services exist locally or throughout the state
				in order to assure a timely response to the call for emergency medical care.
				Mutual aid agreements may be utilized to address (among other things)
				coordinated response to catastrophic events, as well as common system demand
				and staffing situations.
JJ.
"National EMD standard-setting and certification organization (NESSCO)"
means the organization that provides and maintains a comprehensive EMD protocol
				and training system development process. Organizations accredited under NESSCO
				are required to maintain current and up-to-date emergency medical dispatch
				priority reference system (EMDPRS) curriculum, training, testing,
				certification, recertification, instructor, quality improvement and
				accreditation programs and standards.
KK.
"Non-transport medical rescue
				vehicle"
means any EMS agency representative vehicle (motor vehicle or
				watercraft) that is not a privately owned vehicle and that carries EMS
				equipment that is not included in the EMS agency's medical protocols to
				transport patients.
LL.
"Non-transport medical rescue agency"
means an EMS agency that does not
				transport patients and is organized under a New Mexico political subdivision or
				a private entity performing services solely for its employees.
MM.
"Out-of-state EMS agency"
meansan EMS agency that is organized under the laws of another state, or whose
				principal place of business is located in another state.
NN.
"Patient care report"
means
				a medical record of an encounter between any patient and a provider of medical
				care.
OO.
"Personnel"
means any employee, agent, representative, volunteer, or intern of an EMS
				agency who provides emergency medical services.
PP.
"Privately owned vehicle"
(POV) means a privately owned vehicle not registered to a governmental entity
				or EMS agency.
QQ.
"Physician"
means a doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy who is
				licensed or otherwise authorized to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine
				in New Mexico.
RR.
"Post-dispatch instructions"
means case-specific advice, warnings, and
				treatments given by trained EMDs to responders whenever possible and
				appropriate after dispatch of field responders.
SS.
"Pre-arrival instructions"
means the scripted medical instructions provided to callers in emergency
				situations by licensed emergency medical dispatchers prior to the arrival of
				EMS agency personnel.
TT.
"Primary response area"
means the specific primary geographic area
				designated or prescribed by a jurisdiction in which an EMS agency provides
				emergency medical service.
UU.
"Provider"
means a person who has been licensed by the department
				to provide patient care pursuant to the EMS Act, NMSA 1978, Section
				24-10B-1
et seq
.
VV.
"Quality assurance"
means a retrospective review or inspection of EMS
				records to determine if appropriate care is being provided.
WW.
"Regional office"
means an
				emergency medical services planning and development organization formally
				recognized and contracted by the bureau.
XX.
"Required records"
means
				records, logs, data sets, forms, agreements, plans, procedures, policies,
				titles, certificates and other documents required to be retained by an EMS
				agency under this rule, whether in electronic or printed form.
YY.
"Scope of practice"
means
				the skills, techniques, medications, and procedures identified by rule of the
				department (7.27.2.14 NMAC) that are allowed for the practice of emergency
				medical services in New Mexico, that apply to all EMS personnel, EMS services,
				and EMS medical directors.
ZZ.
"Secondary response area"
means a geographic area in which an EMS
				agency provides emergency medical service beyond their primary response area,
				established by local jurisdictions or mutual aid agreements.
AAA.
"Secretary"
means the
				secretary of the New Mexico department of health.
BBB.
"Special event emergency medical
				services (special event EMS)"
means emergency medical services provided
				outside the emergency response system at scheduled, contractual events. Special
				event services include but are not limited to: medical services provided at
				movie sets, sporting events, mass gatherings, concert venues, adventure
				programs, religious events, guest ranches and wild-land fires.
CCC.
"Special event EMS agency"
means an organization that provides special event emergency medical services to
				the public by licensed EMS providers.
DDD.
"Special skill"
means a
				set of procedures or therapies that are beyond the usual scope of practice for
				a given level of licensure and that have been approved by the medical direction
				committee for use by a specified provider.
EEE.
"Standing orders"
means
				defined written orders for actions, techniques or drug administration, signed
				by the medical director, to be utilized when communication has not been made
				with an on-line medical control physician.
FFF.
"Transport capable medical
				rescue"
means any vehicle (motor vehicle or watercraft) that carries EMS
				protocols for transporting patients in a patient care compartment.
GGG.
"Transport medical rescue
				agency"
means an EMS agency that transports patients under certain
				circumstances and without compensation, and is organized under a New Mexico
				political subdivision or a private entity.