"Department" means the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
"Licensed" means that which is required to hold oneself
out as
a respiratory care
practitioner as defined in this Act.
"Licensed health care professional" means a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or a licensed physician assistant.
"Order" means a written, oral, or telecommunicated authorization for respiratory care services for a patient by (i) a licensed health care professional who maintains medical supervision of the patient and makes a diagnosis or verifies that the patient's condition is such that it may be treated by a respiratory care practitioner or (ii) a certified registered nurse anesthetist in a licensed hospital or ambulatory surgical treatment center.
"Other authorized licensed personnel" means a licensed respiratory care practitioner, a licensed registered nurse, or a licensed practical nurse whose scope of practice authorizes the professional to supervise an individual who is not licensed, certified, or registered as a health professional.
"Proximate supervision" means a situation in which an individual is
responsible for directing the actions of another individual in the facility and is physically close enough to be readily available, if needed, by the supervised individual.
"Respiratory care" and "cardiorespiratory care"
mean preventative services, evaluation and assessment services, therapeutic services, cardiopulmonary disease management, and rehabilitative services under the order of a licensed health care professional for an individual with a disorder, disease, or abnormality of the cardiopulmonary system. These terms include, but are not limited to, measuring, observing, assessing, and monitoring signs and symptoms, reactions, general behavior, and general physical response of individuals to respiratory care services, including the determination of whether those signs, symptoms, reactions, behaviors, or general physical responses exhibit abnormal characteristics; the administration of pharmacological and therapeutic agents and procedures related to respiratory care services; the collection of blood specimens and other bodily fluids and tissues for, and the performance of, cardiopulmonary diagnostic testing procedures, including, but not limited to, blood gas analysis; development, implementation, and modification of respiratory care treatment plans based on assessed abnormalities of the cardiopulmonary system, respiratory care guidelines, referrals, and orders of a licensed health care professional; application, operation, and management of mechanical ventilatory support and other means of life support, including, but not limited to, hemodynamic cardiovascular support; and the initiation of emergency procedures under the rules promulgated by the Department. A respiratory care practitioner shall refer to a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches any patient whose condition, at the time of evaluation or treatment, is determined to be beyond the scope of practice of the respiratory care practitioner.
"Respiratory care education program" means a course of academic study leading
to eligibility for registry or certification in respiratory care. The training
is to be approved by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board and shall
include an evaluation of competence through a standardized testing mechanism
that is determined by the Board to be both valid and reliable.
"Respiratory care practitioner" means a person who is licensed by the
Department of Professional Regulation and meets all of the following
criteria:
(1) The person is engaged in the practice of cardiorespiratory care and has the
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