Authorizes collaborative programs for community paramedicine services

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Gustavo Rivera says this is needed

Community paramedicine is the provision of health care by an emergency medical technician (EMT) or advanced EMT in circumstances other than the initial emergency medical care and transport of sick patients. This may include but is not limited to, coordinating patient care and transporta- tion decisions with other providers; helping refer frequent emergency medical services (EMS) users to appropriate services to break the cycle of relying on EMS calls; using EMS care assessment skills to evaluate patients and activate follow-up care; or improving health and safety conditions for vulnerable patients by evaluating potential hazards in the patient's home. This bill authorizes EMTs or advanced EMTs, acting as part of a collabo- rative program with other healthcare providers, to offer community paramedicine services within their existing scope of practice. These activities will improve continuity of care between emergency response and other healthcare providers, helping to avoid prevent :We hospitali- zations and reduce some patients' overreliance on emergency calls as their first and only point of contact with the healthcare system. A report by the NYS Emergency Medical Services Council (SEMSCO) and Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (SEMAC) laid out parameters for authorization of community paramedicine ("Achieving Mobile Integrated Health Care Through the Use of Community Paramedicine," Community Param- edicine Technical Advisory Group, August 2014). The 2014 Department of Health North Country Health Systems Redesign Commission also recommended the implementation of community paramedicine for home visits and preven- tive care.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.