[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4365 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4365

To amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of 
                      emergency medical services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 12, 2016

 Mr. Hudson (for himself, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Farenthold, 
    Mr. Heck of Nevada, Mr. Ruiz, and Mr. Westerman) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
  Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of 
                      emergency medical services.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Patient Access to 
Emergency Medications Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The use of controlled substances by emergency medical 
        services agencies to administer medical care and medicines to 
        individuals in the field is essential to save lives, manage 
        pain, and improve health outcomes.
            (2) The unique nature of mobile emergency medical services 
        is unlike other health care services governed by the Controlled 
        Substances Act in that it requires the provision of time-
        sensitive and mobile medical care to individuals with critical 
        injuries and illnesses in the field and movement of such 
        individuals to definitive care.
            (3) Regulatory oversight to prevent diversion should not 
        disrupt the current delivery model of providing medical care to 
        individuals by emergency medical services practitioners under 
        the supervision of a physician medical director.
            (4) Such oversight should also recognize the variety of 
        emergency medical services agencies including governmental, 
        nongovernmental, private, and volunteer emergency medical 
        services agencies.

SEC. 3. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

    Part C of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 821 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 312. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.

    ``(a) Registration.--
            ``(1) In general.--For the purpose of enabling emergency 
        medical services practitioners to dispense controlled 
        substances in schedule II, III, IV, or V to ultimate users 
        receiving emergency medical services, the Attorney General 
        shall, at the request of the emergency medical services agency 
        employing such practitioners, register such emergency medical 
        services agency under section 303(f) in lieu of registering the 
        individual practitioners or one or more medical directors of 
        such agency.
            ``(2) Single registration.--In registering an emergency 
        medical services agency pursuant to paragraph (1), the Attorney 
        General shall require a single registration per State, not a 
        separate registration for each location of the emergency 
        medical services agency.
    ``(b) Medical Oversight.--Notwithstanding section 309:
            ``(1) A registrant emergency medical services agency shall 
        have one or more medical directors responsible for medical 
        oversight of the agency's provision of emergency medical 
        services.
            ``(2) Controlled substances in schedule II, III, IV, or V 
        may be administered by the emergency medical services 
        practitioners of a registrant emergency medical services agency 
        in the course of providing emergency medical services pursuant 
        to a standing order issued by one or more medical directors of 
        such agency. A registrant emergency medical services agency 
        shall keep any such standing order on file and make such 
        standing order available to the Attorney General upon the 
        Attorney General's request.
            ``(3) In the case of administering a controlled substance 
        pursuant to paragraph (2), the medical directors of the 
        registrant emergency medical services agency shall not be 
        required--
                    ``(A) to be present; or
                    ``(B) to provide a written or oral prescription 
                with regard to a known individual before or at the time 
                of such administering.
    ``(c) Receipt, Movement, and Storage of Controlled Substances.--
            ``(1) Receipt.--The registrant emergency medical services 
        agency--
                    ``(A) may receive controlled substances at any 
                location of the agency designated by the agency for 
                such receipt; and
                    ``(B) may not receive controlled substances at any 
                location not so designated.
            ``(2) Movement and delivery.--The registrant emergency 
        medical services agency may move or deliver controlled 
        substances within the possession of such agency between any 
        locations of such agency. A registrant emergency medical 
        services agency shall not be treated as a distributor of 
        controlled substances under this Act by reason of such movement 
        or distribution.
            ``(3) Storage.--Such agency--
                    ``(A) may store controlled substances at any 
                location of the agency designated by the agency for 
                such storage; and
                    ``(B) may not store controlled substances at any 
                location not so designated.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `emergency medical services' means emergency 
        medical response, and emergency mobile medical services, 
        provided outside of a medical facility.
            ``(2) The term `emergency medical services agency' means an 
        organization providing emergency medical services, including 
        such organizations that--
                    ``(A) are governmental (including fire-based 
                agencies), nongovernmental (including hospital-based 
                agencies), private, or volunteer-based; and
                    ``(B) provide emergency medical services by ground, 
                air, or otherwise.
            ``(3) The term `emergency medical services practitioner' 
        means a health care practitioner (including nurse, paramedic, 
        or emergency medical technician) licensed or certified by a 
        State and credentialed by a medical director of the respective 
        emergency medical services agency to provide emergency medical 
        services to individuals within the scope of the practitioner's 
        State license or certification.
            ``(4) The term `medical director' means a physician 
        providing medical oversight for an emergency medical services 
        agency.
            ``(5) The term `medical oversight' means supervision of 
        medical operations of an emergency medical services agency.
            ``(6) The term `standing order' means a written medical 
        protocol in which a medical director prescribes in advance the 
        medical criteria to be followed by emergency medical services 
        practitioners in administering controlled substances to 
        individuals in need of emergency medical services.''.
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