emergency medical services
(13) Definitions In this section: (A) The term “authorizing medical professional” means an emergency or other physician, or another medical professional (including an advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant)— (i) who is registered under this chapter; (ii) who is acting within the scope of the registration; and (iii) whose scope of practice under a State license or certification includes the ability to provide verbal orders. (B) The term “designated location” means a location designated by an emergency medical services agency under paragraph (5). (C) The term “emergency medical services” means emergency medical response and emergency mobile medical services provided outside of a fixed medical facility. (D) The term “emergency medical services agency” means an organization providing emergency medical services, including such an organization that— (i) is governmental (including fire-based and hospital-based agencies), nongovernmental (including hospital-based agencies), private, or volunteer-based; (ii) provides emergency medical services by ground, air, or otherwise; and (iii) is authorized by the State in which the organization is providing such services to provide emergency medical care, including the administering of controlled substances, to members of the general public on an emergency basis. (E) The term “emergency medical services professional” means a health care professional (including a nurse, paramedic, or emergency medical technician) licensed or certified by the State in which the professional practices and credentialed by a medical director of the respective emergency medical services agency to provide emergency medical services within the scope of the professional’s State license or certification. (F) The term “emergency medical services vehicle” means an ambulance, fire apparatus, supervisor truck, or other vehicle used by an emergency medical services agency for the purpose of providing or facilitating emergency medical care and transport or transporting controlled substances to and from the registered and designated locations. (G) The term “hospital-based” means, with respect to an agency, owned or operated by a hospital. (H) The term “medical director” means a physician who is registered under subsection (f) and provides medical oversight for an emergency medical services agency. (I) The term “medical oversight” means supervision of the provision of medical care by an emergency medical services agency. (J) The term “registered emergency medical services agency” means— (i) an emergency medical services agency that is registered pursuant to this subsection; or (ii) a hospital-based emergency medical services agency that is covered by the registration of the hospital under subsection (f). (K) The term “registered location” means a location that appears on the certificate of registration issued to an emergency medical services agency under this subsection or subsection (f), which shall be where the agency receives controlled substances from distributors. (L) The term “specific State authority” means a governmental agency or other such authority, including a regional oversight and coordinating body, that, pursuant to State law or regulation, develops clinical protocols regarding the delivery of emergency medical services in the geographic jurisdiction of such agency or authority within the State that may be adopted by medical directors. (M) The term “standing order” means a written medical protocol in which a medical director determines in advance the medical criteria that must be met before administering controlled substances to individuals in need of emergency medical services. (N) The term “verbal order” means an oral directive that is given through any method of communication including by radio or telephone, directly to an emergency medical services professional, to contemporaneously administer a controlled substance to individuals in need of emergency medical services outside the physical presence of the medical director or authorizing medical professional.