Subchapter C. COLLECTION OF DATA AND INFORMATION
Sec.
1021.41. EMS patient care reports.
1021.42. Dissemination of information.
1021.43. Vendors of EMS patient care reports.§ 1021.41. EMS patient care reports.
(a) EMS agencies shall collect, maintain and electronically report complete, accurate and reliable patient data and other information as solicited on the EMS PCR form for calls for assistance in the format prescribed by the Department. An EMS agency shall file the report for calls to which it responds that result in EMS being provided. The report shall be made by completing an EMS PCR within the time prescribed by the EMS agency’s written policies, no later than 72 hours after the EMS agency concludes patient care, and then submitting it, within 30 days, to the regional EMS council that is assigned responsibilities for the region in which the EMS agency is licensed. Upon request, the EMS agency shall provide a copy of the EMS PCR to the regional EMS council that is assigned responsibilities for the region in which the EMS agency encountered the patient. An entity located out-of-State, but licensed as an EMS agency by the Department, shall file its EMS PCRs with the regional EMS council with which it has been directed to file its EMS PCRs by the Department. The Department will publish a list of the data elements and the form specifications for the EMS PCR form in a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and on the Department’s web site. The reporting shall conform to the requirements in the notice published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The Department will maintain a list of software it has determined to satisfy the requirements for electronic reporting.
(b) When an EMS provider relinquishes primary responsibility for the care of a patient to another EMS provider, the EMS provider relinquishing that responsibility shall provide the other EMS provider with the patient information that has been collected.
(c) When an EMS agency transports a patient to a receiving facility, before its ambulance departs from the receiving facility, the EMS agency having primary responsibility for the patient shall verbally and in writing, or other means by which information is recorded, report to the individual at the receiving facility assuming responsibility for the patient, the patient information that is essential for immediate transmission for patient care. The Department will publish a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin specifying the types of patient information that are essential for patient care. The EMS agency shall provide the completed EMS PCR to the receiving facility to which the patient was transported within 72 hours after the EMS agency concluded patient care. Upon request of any other facility that subsequently provides health care services to the patient related to the reason the patient was transported to the original receiving facility, the EMS agency shall provide the completed EMS PCR to that facility within 24 hours of the request or within 72 hours after the EMS agency concluded patient care, whichever is later. The EMS agency shall submit the data to the facility in a mutually acceptable manner to the facility and the EMS agency which ensures the confidentiality of information in the EMS PCR.
(d) The EMS provider who assumes primary responsibility for the patient shall complete an EMS PCR for the patient and ensure that the EMS PCR is accurate and complete and completed within the time prescribed by the EMS agency under subsection (a). When a patient is transported to a receiving facility, an EMS provider of the EMS agency having primary responsibility for the patient shall also ensure that before the ambulance departs from the receiving facility essential patient information is reported to the receiving facility as required under subsection (c).
(e) The EMS agency shall retain a copy of the EMS PCR for a minimum of 7 years.
Cross References This section cited in 28 Pa. Code § 1021.42 (relating to dissemination of information); 28 Pa. Code § 1021.43 (relating to vendors of EMS patient care reports); 28 Pa. Code § 1027.3 (relating to licensure and general operating standards); 28 Pa. Code § 1027.9 (relating to right to enter, inspect and obtain records); and 28 Pa. Code § 1027.41 (relating to special operations EMS services).
§ 1021.42. Dissemination of information.
(a) A person who collects, has access to or knowledge of information collected under § 1021.41 (relating to EMS patient care reports), by virtue of that person’s participation in the Statewide EMS system, may not provide the EMS PCR, or disclose the information contained in the report or a report or record thereof, except:
(1) To another person who by virtue of that person’s office as an employee of the Department or a regional EMS council is entitled to obtain the information.
(2) For research or EMS planning purposes approved by the Department, subject to strict supervision by the Department to ensure that the use of the data is limited to the specific research or planning and that appropriate measures are taken to protect patient confidentiality.
(3) To the patient who is the subject of the report or to a person who is authorized to exercise the rights of the patient with respect to securing the information, such as a person appointed as the patient’s health care agent under a health care power of attorney.
(4) Under an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, including a subpoena when it constitutes a court order, except when the information is of a nature that disclosure under a subpoena is not authorized by law.
(5) For the purpose of quality improvement or peer review activities, with strict attention to patient confidentiality.
(6) For the purpose of data entry, data retrieval and billing, with strict attention to patient confidentiality.
(7) As authorized under § 1021.41.
(8) To a health care provider to whom a patient’s medical record may be released under law.
(b) The Department or a regional EMS council may disseminate nonconfidential, statistical data collected from EMS PCRs to EMS agencies and other participants in the Statewide EMS system for improvement of services.
Cross References This section cited in 28 Pa. Code § 1027.3 (relating to licensure and general operating standards).
§ 1021.43. Vendors of EMS patient care reports.
(a) An EMS agency shall submit EMS PCRs as required under § 1021.41 (relating to EMS patient care reports) by using only a software program approved by the Department.
(b) A vendor may not sell or otherwise provide or offer reporting forms or software marketed as appropriate for use in making EMS PCRs unless the vendor submits the product to the Department for review and receives the Department’s approval. This also applies to a substantive modification the vendor makes to the reporting form or software. The vendor shall apprise the Department of the modification before marketing the modified form or software regardless of whether the vendor considers the modification to be substantive. EMS agencies may ascertain which vendor products have been approved by the Department under this subsection by contacting the Bureau.
(c) If the Department makes changes to the minimum data elements of the EMS PCR, the Department will publish a notice of the changes in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The effective date of the changes will not be less than 60 days after publication of the notice.
(d) After publication of the changes, a vendor may not market as appropriate for making EMS PCRs a product that had been approved by the Department prior to the Department publishing the notice of changes, unless the vendor clearly discloses that the forms or software were approved prior to the publication of the changes and may only be used to make EMS PCRs until the changes go into effect.
(e) A vendor may store EMS PCR data on its server for data entry or processing purposes arranged by an EMS agency or a regional EMS council to facilitate the transmission of EMS PCR information among the EMS agency, a receiving facility and the regional EMS council, but may not transmit or provide access to that data to any other entity, except the Department, and may not use the data for any other purpose.
Cross References This section cited in 28 Pa. Code § 1031.15 (relating to discipline of vendors of EMS PCR software).
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