Washington Administrative Code › Title 246 - Health, Department of › TRAUMA/EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES › Chapter 246-976 - Emergency medical services and trauma care systems › Section 246-976-010 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Definitions in
				  RCW
				  18.71.200,
				  18.71.205,
				  18.73.030, and
				  70.168.015 and the definitions in
				  this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires
				  otherwise.
(1) "Activation of the
				trauma system" means mobilizing resources to care for a trauma patient in
				accordance with regional patient care procedures.
(2) "Adolescence" means the period of
				physical and psychological development from the onset of puberty to maturity,
				approximately twelve to eighteen years of age.
(3) "Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS)"
				means a course that includes the education and clinical interventions used to
				treat cardiac arrest and other acute cardiac related problems.
(4) "Advanced emergency medical technician
				(AEMT)" means a person who has been examined and certified by the secretary as
				an intermediate life support technician as defined in
				RCW
				18.71.200 and
				18.71.205.
(5) "Advanced first aid" means an advanced
				first-aid course prescribed by the American Red Cross or its
				equivalent.
(6) "Advanced life
				support (ALS)" means invasive emergency medical services requiring the advanced
				medical treatment skills of a paramedic.
(7) "Agency" means an aid or ambulance
				service licensed by the secretary to provide prehospital care or interfacility
				ambulance transport.
(8) "Agency
				response time" means the interval from dispatch to arrival on the
				scene.
(9) "Aid service" means an
				agency licensed by the secretary to operate one or more aid vehicles,
				consistent with regional and state plans.
(10) "Ambulance service" means an agency
				licensed by the secretary to operate one or more ground or air
				ambulances.
(11) "Approved" means
				approved by the department of health.
(12) "ATLS" means advanced trauma life
				support, a course developed by the American College of Surgeons.
(13) "Attending surgeon" means a physician
				who is board-certified or board-qualified in general surgery, and who has
				surgical privileges delineated by the facility's medical staff. The attending
				surgeon is responsible for care of the trauma patient, participates in all
				major therapeutic decisions, and is present during operative
				procedures.
(14) "Available" for
				designated trauma services described in WAC 246-976-485 through
				246-976-890 means physically
				present in the facility and able to deliver care to the patient within the time
				specified. If no time is specified, the equipment or personnel must be
				available as reasonable and appropriate for the needs of the patient.
(15) "Basic life support (BLS)" means
				emergency medical services requiring basic medical treatment skills as defined
				in chapter 18.73
				RCW.
(16) "Board certified" or
				"board-certified" means that a physician has been certified by the appropriate
				specialty board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. For
				the purposes of this chapter, references to "board certified" include
				physicians who are board-qualified.
(17) "Board-qualified" means physicians who
				have graduated less than five years previously from a residency program
				accredited for the appropriate specialty by the accreditation council for
				graduate medical education.
(18)
				"BP" means blood pressure.
(19)
				"Certification" means the secretary recognizes that an individual has proof of
				meeting predetermined qualifications, and authorizes the individual to perform
				certain procedures.
(20) "Consumer"
				means an individual who is not associated with the EMS/TC system, either for
				pay or as a volunteer, except for service on the steering committee, or
				regional or local EMS/TC councils.
(21) "Continuing medical education method" or
				(CME method) means prehospital EMS recertification education required after
				initial EMS certification to maintain and enhance skill and knowledge. The CME
				method requires the successful completion of department-approved knowledge and
				practical skill certification examinations to recertify.
(22) "County operating procedures" or "COPS"
				means the written operational procedures adopted by the county MPD and the
				local EMS council specific to county needs.
(23) "CPR" means cardiopulmonary
				resuscitation.
(24) "Critical care
				transport" means the interfacility transport of a patient whose condition
				requires care by a physician, RN or a paramedic who has received special
				training and approval by the MPD.
(25) "Department" means the Washington state
				department of health.
(26)
				"Dispatch" means to identify and direct an emergency response unit to an
				incident location.
(27) "Diversion"
				means the EMS transport of a patient past the usual receiving facility to
				another facility due to temporary unavailability of care resources at the usual
				receiving facility.
(28) "E-code"
				means external cause code, an etiology included in the International
				Classification of Diseases (ICD).
(29) "ED" means emergency
				department.
(30) "Emergency medical
				procedures" means the skills that are performed within the scope of practice of
				EMS personnel certified by the secretary under
				chapters
				18.71 and
				18.73 RCW.
(31) "Emergency medical services and trauma
				care (EMS/TC) system" means an organized approach to providing personnel,
				facilities, and equipment for effective and coordinated medical treatment of
				patients with a medical emergency or injury requiring immediate medical or
				surgical intervention to prevent death or disability. The emergency medical
				services and trauma care system includes prevention activities, prehospital
				care, hospital care, and rehabilitation.
(32) "Emergency medical responder (EMR)"
				means a person who has been examined and certified by the secretary as a first
				responder to render prehospital EMS care as defined in
				RCW
				18.73.081.
(33) "Emergency medical technician (EMT)"
				means a person who has been examined and certified by the secretary as an EMT
				to render prehospital EMS care as defined in
				RCW
				18.73.081.
(34) "EMS" means emergency medical
				services.
(35) "EMS provider" means
				an individual certified by the secretary or the University of Washington School
				of Medicine under
				chapters
				18.71 and
				18.73 RCW to provide prehospital
				emergency response, patient care, and transport.
(36) "EMS/TC" means emergency medical
				services and trauma care.
(37)
				"General surgeon" means a licensed physician who has completed a residency
				program in surgery and who has surgical privileges delineated by the
				facility.
(38) "ICD" means the
				international classification of diseases, a coding system developed by the
				World Health Organization.
(39)
				"Injury prevention" means any combination of educational, legislative,
				enforcement, engineering and emergency response initiatives used to reduce the
				number and severity of injuries.
(40) "Interfacility transport" means medical
				transport of a patient between recognized medical treatment facilities
				requested by a licensed health care provider.
(41) "Intermediate life support (ILS)" means
				invasive emergency medical services requiring the advanced medical treatment
				skills of an advanced EMT (AEMT).
(42) "IV" means a fluid or medication
				administered directly into the venous system.
(43) "Local council" means a local EMS/TC
				council authorized by
				RCW
				70.168.120(1).
(44) "Medical control" means oral or written
				direction of medical care that certified prehospital EMS personnel provide to
				patients of all age groups. The oral or written direction is provided by the
				MPD or MPD delegate.
(45) "Medical
				control agreement" means a written agreement between two or more MPDs, using
				similar protocols that are consistent with regional plans, to assure continuity
				of patient care between counties, and to facilitate assistance.
(46) "Medical program director (MPD)" means a
				person who meets the requirements of
				chapters
				18.71 and
				18.73 RCW and is certified by the
				secretary. The MPD is responsible for both the supervision of training and
				medical control of EMS providers.
(47) "MPD delegate" means a physician
				appointed by the MPD and recognized and approved by the department. An MPD
				delegate may be:
(a) A prehospital training
				physician who supervises specified aspects of training EMS personnel;
				or
(b) A prehospital supervising
				physician who provides on-line medical control of EMS personnel.