HB 70: "An Act relating to emergency medical services for operational canines; relating to the powers, duties, and liability of emergency medical technicians and mobile intensive care paramedics; relating to the practice of veterinary medicine; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 70 01 "An Act relating to emergency medical services for operational canines; relating to the 02 powers, duties, and liability of emergency medical technicians and mobile intensive care 03 paramedics; relating to the practice of veterinary medicine; and providing for an 04 effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 08.98.125 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 08.98.125. Exemptions. This chapter does not apply to the following: 08 (1) a veterinary medical officer in the military service in the discharge 09 of official duties or as an employee in the federal or state government performing 10 veterinary medical services within the scope of the person's official duties; 11 (2) a veterinarian who is licensed in another state or country, or a 12 person whose expertise a veterinarian licensed in this state believes would benefit an 13 animal, and who provides only consultation to a veterinarian licensed in this state; in 14 this paragraph, "consultation" means advice or assistance provided in person,
01 telephonically, electronically, or by any other method of communication from a 02 veterinarian or other person whose expertise, in the opinion of the veterinarian, would 03 benefit the animal; [AND] 04 (3) a veterinarian licensed and residing in another state who provides 05 assistance, as requested by and under the supervision of a veterinarian licensed in this 06 state, for the purpose of providing skills not otherwise available in this state in 07 conducting research or other practice of veterinary medicine on captive or free-ranging 08 wildlife; however, that assistance is limited to not more than three events in a calendar 09 year for not more than a total of 60 days in the year and may not be on a regular or 10 recurring basis, as defined by the board; and 11 (4) an emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care 12 paramedic providing emergency medical services to an operational canine as 13 provided under AS 18.08.093. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 18.08.075(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) An emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care paramedic who 16 responds to an emergency with an ambulance service or first responder service, who 17 has in the technician's or mobile intensive care paramedic's possession a current 18 emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care paramedic identification card, 19 and who provides emergency medical care or other emergency medical service, has 20 the authority to 21 (1) control and direct activities at the accident site or emergency until 22 the arrival of law enforcement personnel; 23 (2) order a person other than the owner to leave a building or place in 24 the vicinity of the accident or other emergency for the purpose of protecting the person 25 from injury; 26 (3) temporarily block a public highway, street, or private right-of-way 27 while at the scene of an accident, illness, or emergency; 28 (4) trespass on [UPON] property at or near the scene of an accident, 29 illness, or emergency at any time of day or night; 30 (5) enter a building, including a private dwelling, or premises where a 31 report of an injury or illness has taken place or where there is a reasonable cause to
01 believe an individual or operational canine has been injured or is ill to render 02 emergency medical care; and 03 (6) direct the removal or destruction of a motor vehicle or other thing 04 that the emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care paramedic determines 05 is necessary to prevent further harm to injured or ill individuals or operational 06 canines. 07 * Sec. 3. AS 18.08.086(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) A person certified or licensed under AS 18.08.082 who administers 09 emergency medical services to an injured or sick person or who, under AS 18.08.093, 10 administers emergency medical services to an operational canine, a person or 11 public agency that employs, sponsors, directs, or controls the activities of persons 12 certified or licensed under AS 18.08.082 who administer emergency medical services 13 to an injured or sick person or who, under AS 18.08.093, administer emergency 14 medical services to an operational canine, or a health care professional or 15 emergency medical dispatcher acting within the scope of the person's certification or 16 licensure who directs or advises a person to administer emergency medical services to 17 an injured or sick person is not liable for civil damages as a result of an act or 18 omission in administering those services or giving that advice or those directions if the 19 administering, advising, and directing are done in good faith and the injured or sick 20 person or operational canine reasonably seems to be in immediate danger of serious 21 harm or death. This subsection does not preclude liability for civil damages that are 22 the proximate result of gross negligence or intentional misconduct, nor preclude 23 imposition of liability on a person or public agency that employs, sponsors, directs, or 24 controls the activities of persons certified or licensed under AS 18.08.082 if the act or 25 omission is a proximate result of a breach of duty to act created under this chapter. In 26 this subsection, "gross negligence" means reckless, wilful, or wanton misconduct. 27 * Sec. 4. AS 18.08.087 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 18.08.087. Disclosure of medical records. When requested for the 29 purpose of evaluating the performance of an emergency medical technician, mobile 30 intensive care paramedic, or physician who provided emergency medical care or other 31 assistance to a sick or injured person, a licensed physician, advanced practice
01 registered nurse, or physician assistant may disclose to an emergency medical 02 technician, [A] mobile intensive care paramedic, or physician the medical or hospital 03 records of a sick or injured person to whom the paramedic, technician, or physician is 04 providing or has rendered emergency medical care or assistance. [HOWEVER, THE 05 DISCLOSING PHYSICIAN, ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE, OR 06 PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT SHALL LIMIT DISCLOSURE UNDER THIS SECTION 07 TO THE RECORDS THAT ARE CONSIDERED NECESSARY BY THE 08 DISCLOSER FOR EVALUATION OF THE PARAMEDIC'S, TECHNICIAN'S, OR 09 PHYSICIAN'S PERFORMANCE IN PROVIDING THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL 10 CARE OR ASSISTANCE. A MOBILE INTENSIVE CARE PARAMEDIC, 11 EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE TECHNICIAN, OR PHYSICIAN TO WHOM 12 CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS ARE DISCLOSED UNDER THIS SECTION MAY 13 NOT FURTHER DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION TO A PERSON NOT 14 ENTITLED TO RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION UNDER THIS SECTION OR 15 ANOTHER LAW.] 16 * Sec. 5. AS 18.08.087 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 17 (b) When requested for the purpose of evaluating the performance of an 18 emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care paramedic who provided 19 emergency medical care or other assistance to a sick or injured operational canine, a 20 licensed veterinarian may disclose to an emergency medical technician or mobile 21 intensive care paramedic the medical or hospital records of a sick or injured 22 operational canine to whom the technician or paramedic is providing or has rendered 23 emergency medical care or assistance. 24 (c) An individual making a disclosure under this section shall limit the 25 disclosure to the records that are considered necessary by the discloser for evaluation 26 of the technician's, paramedic's, or physician's performance in providing the 27 emergency medical care or assistance. An emergency medical care technician, mobile 28 intensive care paramedic, physician, or veterinarian to whom confidential records are 29 disclosed under this section may not further disclose the information to a person not 30 entitled to receive that information under this section or another law. 31 * Sec. 6. AS 18.08 is amended by adding a new section to read:
01 Sec. 18.08.093. Emergency medical services for operational canines. (a) If a 02 veterinarian is unavailable to provide emergency medical services to an operational 03 canine in a reasonable amount of time, an emergency medical technician or mobile 04 intensive care paramedic may provide emergency medical services to the operational 05 canine as long as the emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care 06 paramedic 07 (1) has received training on providing emergency medical services to 08 operational canines; 09 (2) is trained to provide comparable medical services to a human; 10 (3) is authorized to provide the comparable medical service to a human 11 under the scope of the emergency medical technician's or mobile intensive care 12 paramedic's certification or license; and 13 (4) meets at least one of the following requirements: 14 (A) the emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care 15 paramedic has obtained informed consent from the owner of the operational 16 canine or a person authorized to make medical decisions about the operational 17 canine; 18 (B) the emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care 19 paramedic is employed by the governmental agency that owns or has authority 20 to make medical decisions about the operational canine; or 21 (C) the emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care 22 paramedic provides the emergency medical service in accordance with a 23 written protocol developed and approved by a veterinarian. 24 (b) An emergency medical technician or mobile intensive care paramedic who 25 provides an emergency medical service to an operational canine under (a) of this 26 section shall 27 (1) transfer the operational canine to a licensed veterinarian at the 28 earliest practicable opportunity; and 29 (2) comply with all laws governing the administration of drugs or 30 biologics to a human when administering a drug or biologic to an operational canine. 31 * Sec. 7. AS 18.08.100(b) is amended to read:
01 (b) If an individual certified or licensed under this chapter determines in the 02 course of a telehealth encounter with a patient that some or all of the encounter will 03 extend beyond the individual's authorized scope of practice, the individual shall advise 04 the patient that the individual is not authorized to provide some or all of the services to 05 the patient, recommend that the patient contact an appropriate provider for the services 06 the individual is not authorized to provide, and limit the encounter to only those 07 services the individual is authorized to provide. If the patient is an operational 08 canine, the individual shall provide the advice and recommendation to the person 09 who owns or is authorized to make medical decisions about the operational 10 canine. The individual certified or licensed under this chapter may not charge for any 11 portion of an encounter that extends beyond the individual's authorized scope of 12 practice. 13 * Sec. 8. AS 18.08.200 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 14 (15) "operational canine" means a dog used 15 (A) by law enforcement or other government agencies; or 16 (B) in search and rescue operations; 17 (16) "veterinarian" means a veterinarian licensed under AS 08.98. 18 * Sec. 9. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.