SECTION 310:641-13-11. Air medical director

(a)   An air medical director shall be a physician, fully licensed to practice in the State of Oklahoma, with a background in flight medicine, pre-hospital and/or emergency medicine. The physician shall know the aircraft limitations for in-flight patient care.

(b)   An air ambulance service based in another state may have as its air medical director a physician who is not licensed to practice in the State of Oklahoma but is fully licensed in good standing in the home state of the air ambulance service. The air medical director shall meet all other qualifications listed in this subchapter.

(c)   Licensed air ambulance services will have a plan or policy describing how the agency will address a sudden lapse of medical direction, such as a back-up medical director, that is used to ensure coverage when a physician is not available.

(d)   The Department shall be notified the next business day of any lapse or change of medical direction by air ambulance service. If the agency has made arrangements for a back-up medical director or an immediate replacement, then no lapse has occurred.

(e)   In the event of a lapse in medical direction, in that, there is not a medical director providing the authority for the agency's licensed personnel, the agency will, pursuant to 63 O.S. Section 1-2506, relating to the medical authority to perform medical procedures

(1)   cease all operations involving patient care,

(2)   implement mutual aid plans to ensure requests for service receive responses until the agency is able to implement their plan or policy for a substitute or back-up medical director.

(f)   The air ambulance service medical director shall:

(1)   Attend or demonstrate participation in:

(A)   medical director training provided by the Department subject to the availability of funding. Verification of attendance or participation will be maintained at the agency;

(B)   one hour of continuing education specific to providing medical oversight to EMS providers and agencies each year, provided by the Department subject to the availability of funding.

(2)   demonstrate appropriate training and experience in adult and pediatric emergency medical services, which may include pediatric, adult, and trauma life support courses or equivalency. Training and experience may also include appropriate board training.

(3)   be accessible, knowledgeable, and actively involved in quality assurance and the educational activities of the agency's personnel and supervise a quality assurance (QA) program by either direct involvement or appropriate designation and surveillance of the responsible designee(s). The appointment of a designee does not absolve the medical director of their responsibility for providing oversight.

(4)   Each air ambulance quality assurance policy shall include, but not be limited to:

(A)   patient care interventions to ensure appropriate patient care,

(B)   policy to review air ambulance utilization,

(C)   policy to review airway management,

(D)   policy to review cardiac arrest management,

(E)   other reports not specifically identified,

(F)   a process to prove internal and external feedback of quality assurance findings.

(5)   Provide a written statement to the Department, which includes:

(A)   an agreement to provide medical direction and establish treatment protocols and the agency specific scope of practice for all certified and licensed agency personnel;

(B)   the physician's primary practice address or home address if the physician does not have a practice, and email address(es);

(C)   an OBNDD registrant number or appropriate state equivalent, as appropriate;

(D)   current Oklahoma medical license;

(E)   demonstrate appropriate training and experience in the types of patients the service will be transporting. Demonstrated training may include board training and appropriate certifications or supplemental training.

(F)   Develop on-line and off-line specific medical protocols with medication formulary for patientcare techniques. Protocols shall include medication to be used, treatment modalities for patient care procedures, and appropriate security procedures for controlled dangerous substances;

(g)   A physician may be the medical director for more than one (1) service.

[Source: Amended and renumbered from 310:641-3-35 at 33 Ok Reg 1529, eff 9-11-16]