Bill > SB94

This bill amends Delaware's law regarding respiratory care practitioners (RCPs) to expand their professional scope of practice, specifically by explicitly allowing them to perform all forms of extracorporeal life support, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R). Currently, respiratory therapists are authorized to assist with life support procedures but were previously restricted from administering medication during these processes, which could cause delays in patient care. The bill updates the definition of respiratory care and the permissible duties of RCPs, clarifying that they work under the general supervision of a licensed medical practitioner and can perform a range of medical tasks such as collecting bodily samples, measuring cardiorespiratory functions, administering pharmacological agents and medical gases, managing airways, controlling ventilatory support systems, resuscitation, maintaining bronchopulmonary hygiene, conducting research, performing pulmonary function studies, and utilizing telemedicine. The key change is the addition of a new subsection explicitly allowing RCPs to perform comprehensive extracorporeal life support procedures, which will help streamline patient care by enabling these trained professionals to work more fully within their expertise.

Government Affairs

https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=142068