Utah Admin. Code R911-10-25 - Medical Staff and Patient Safety Welfare

(1) Medical personnel scheduling and individual work schedules shall demonstrate strategies to minimize duty-time fatigue, length of shift, number of shifts per week, and day-to-night rotation.

(2) On-site scheduled shifts for a period to exceed 24 hours are not acceptable under most circumstances.

(3) The following criteria shall be met for shifts scheduled more than 12 hours:

(a) medical personnel are not required to routinely perform any duties beyond those associated with the transport services;

(b) medical personnel are provided with access to and permission for uninterrupted rest after daily medical personnel duties are met;

(c) the physical base of operations includes an appropriate place for uninterrupted rest;

(d) medical personnel shall have the right to call "time out" and be granted a reasonable rest period if the team member, or fellow team member, determines that the team member is unfit or unsafe to continue duty, no matter the shift length;

(e) there shall be no adverse personnel action or undue pressure to continue in a "time out" circumstance;

(f) licensed air ambulance management shall monitor transport volumes and personnel's use of a "time out" policy; and

(g) shifts extended over several days may be scheduled to address long commutes at programs with low volumes.

(4) An air ambulance provider shall clearly demonstrate and document it meets criteria listed in Subsection R911-10-26(3) for shifts over 12 hours.

(5) An air ambulance provider shall ensure medical staff have at least ten hours of rest in each 24-hour period.

(6) If the base location is remote and one-way commutes are more than two hours, transportation time shall be considered.

(7) An air ambulance provider shall utilize a fatigue risk management tool that is widely recognized in the industry.

(8) An air ambulance provider shall evaluate the scheduling of on-call shifts to address fatigue in a written policy based on monitoring of duty times by managers, quality management tracking, and fatigue risk management.

(9) An air ambulance provider shall establish safety and infection control protocols that comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

(10) An air ambulance provider shall have an appropriate dress code that addresses mission specific hazards as well as jewelry, hair, and other personal items that medical personnel may possibly use that may interfere with patient care.

Notes

Utah Admin. Code R911-10-25

Adopted by Utah State Bulletin Number 2024-14, effective 7/1/2024