Act 2021-498 was signed into law by Governor Ivey and went into effect on August 17, 2021 which states that physicians, paramedics, registered nurses, and phlebotomists may draw blood in the field for chemical analysis. This law does not fall under OEMS because it does not involve emergency medical care and was put in place by ALEA. Therefore, OEMS will not be regulating this program and cannot advise you on matters such as cost or any contracts or agreements that may be needed in order to execute this procedure.
Paramedics are already allowed to draw blood in the field if necessary however the provider service may be required to obtain its own CLIA waiver in order to do so. However, an agency should not dispatch ambulances (emergency or non-emergency) to traffic stops or delay patient care in any way on an emergency call, such as an MVC or AMS, to perform this procedure. Please consult your legal council for further advisement.
Any provider service that wishes to contract with a local or state law enforcement agency to provide this service may do so; however, this does not take precedence over the provider service's license obligations as outlined by the OEMS rules.
Mr. Jamie Gray, BS, AAS, NRP State EMS Director Alabama Department of Public Health Office of Emergency Medical Services The Administrative Annex 208 Legends Court Prattville, AL 36066 P.O. Box 303017 Montgomery, AL 36130 Office: 334-290-3088 Fax: 334-206-0364 Email: jamie.gray@adph.state.al.us Confidentiality Notice - This e-Mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential or privileged information. If this message concerns a lawsuit, it may be considered a privileged communication. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
