2016 New Hampshire Revised Statutes
Title XII - PUBLIC SAFETY AND WELFARE
Chapter 153-A - EMERGENCY MEDICAL AND TRAUMA SERVICES
Section 153-A:2 - Definitions.

    153-A:2 Definitions. – In this chapter:
    I. "Coordinating board'' means the emergency medical and trauma services coordinating board established in RSA 153-A:3.
    II. "Commissioner'' means the commissioner of the department of safety.
    III. "Director'' means the director of the division of fire standards and training and emergency medical services, department of safety, or his or her designee.
    IV. "Division'' means the division of fire standards and training and emergency medical services, department of safety.
    V. "Emergency medical care provider'' means an employee or volunteer member of a public or private organization having responsibility for the delivery of health services to individuals experiencing illness or injury at a location other than a hospital or other medical facility. The term shall not include lifeguards at swimming facilities or members of ski patrols, or New Hampshire fish and game department conservation officers, unless said individuals are performing invasive patient care procedures.
    VI. "Emergency medical services'' means the pre-hospital assessment and treatment of a sick or injured individual initiated at the scene of an incident and continued through the transport and transfer, if found appropriate, of the individual to a medical facility or other appropriate location in order to prevent loss of life or aggravation of physiological or psychological illness or injury.
    VII. "Emergency medical services instructor/coordinator'' means a person who has completed the requirements of an instructor training program under RSA 153-A:20, VIII.
    VIII. "Emergency medical services training agency'' means an organization, public or private, which assumes the responsibility for providing emergency medical services education and which has completed the requirements of an agency training program which meets the requirements of rules adopted under RSA 153-A:20, VIII.
    IX. "Emergency medical service unit'' means an organization, public or private, operating alone or as part of a larger organization, which has the responsibility to provide emergency medical services. The term shall not include ski patrols or New Hampshire fish and game department conservation officers unless a ski patrol or a New Hampshire fish and game department conservation officer is providing invasive patient care procedures.
    X. "Emergency medical service vehicle'' means a land, air, or water vehicle designed, equipped, and used for the transport of sick or injured individuals.

[Paragraph XI effective until January 1, 2017; see also paragraph XI set out below.]

    XI. "Facility'' means a hospital as defined in RSA 151:2, I(a).

[Paragraph XI effective January 1, 2017; see also paragraph XI set out above.]

    XI. "Facility'' means a hospital as defined in RSA 151:2, I(a) and (d).
    XII. [Repealed.]
    XIII. "Mass casualty incident'' means any emergency event that cannot be resolved through the use of the emergency resources that are available locally on a regular daily basis.
    XIV. "Emergency medical services medical control board'' means the board established in RSA 153-A:5.
    XV. "Medical control'' means medical supervision and medical accountability for emergency medical care and includes direction and advice from a physician provided through:
       (a) "Off-line'' medical control which includes collaborative oversight of education, advice, critiques, medications, treatment modalities, and performance improvement with the head of the unit.
       (b) "On-line'' medical control which exists when pre-hospital providers communicate directly with a physician or the physician designee at a receiving or medical resource hospital. Such direction may be based on the personal preference of the specific on-line physician, but more ideally it is based on protocols for the management of specific problems. This physician assumes responsibility and gives orders for individual patient's care.

[Paragraph XVI effective until January 1, 2017; see also paragraph XVI set out below.]

    XVI. "Patient'' means an individual who, as a result of illness or injury, needs immediate medical attention, whose physical or mental condition is such that the individual is in imminent danger of loss of life or significant health impairment, or who may otherwise be incapacitated as a result of a physical or mental condition.

[Paragraph XVI effective January 1, 2017; see also paragraph XVI set out above.]

    XVI. "Patient'' means an individual who, as a result of illness or injury, needs medical attention, whose physical or mental condition is such that the individual is in danger of loss of life or significant health impairment, or who may otherwise be incapacitated as a result of a physical or mental condition.
    XVI-a. "Prerequisite'' means the education or demonstrated proficiency required as a prior condition to performing select skills or procedures contained in the standardized protocols issued by the emergency medical services medical control board.
    XVII. "Protocol'' means a written description of a patient care process specifying the circumstances under which emergency medical care providers may function under their own licenses or through medical control. Protocols are approved and issued by the emergency medical services medical control board.
    XVIII. "Public agency'' means the state or any of its political subdivisions, which provide police, firefighting, emergency medical, ambulance, or other emergency services.
    XIX. "Response expense'' means reasonable costs incurred by a public agency in making an appropriate response to an incident. This definition shall include, but not be limited to, the costs of police, firefighters, and rescue and emergency medical services, including the salaries of such persons.
    XX. "Trauma hospital'' means an acute care hospital licensed under RSA 151 to operate as a hospital and classified by the department according to the level of trauma care it is capable of providing.
    XXI. "Trauma patient'' means a person who has sustained a physical injury that may require immediate medical and surgical intervention to preserve life or prevent permanent disability.
    XXII. "Trauma system'' means the organized, managed, and rapid delivery of appropriate pre-hospital, hospital, and rehabilitative care to the injured person whose injury may require the services of trauma care specialized personnel and facilities to ensure an optimal outcome.

Source. 1999, 345:6. 2004, 171:29. 2005, 231:1, 2, 8. 2012, 282:11. 2013, 190:1, 2, eff. Aug. 31, 2013. 2016, 149:1, 7, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.