71-6221. Regulation of health profession; change in scope of practice; when.

(1) A health profession shall be regulated by the state only when:

(a) Unregulated practice can clearly harm or endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the public;

(b) Regulation of the health profession does not impose significant new economic hardship on the public, significantly diminish the supply of qualified practitioners, or otherwise create barriers to service that are not consistent with the public welfare and interest;

(c) The public needs assurance from the state of initial and continuing professional ability; and

(d) The public cannot be protected by a more effective alternative.

(2) If it is determined that practitioners of a health profession not currently regulated are prohibited from the full practice of their profession in Nebraska, then the following criteria shall be used to determine whether regulation is necessary:

(a) Absence of a separate regulated profession creates a situation of harm or danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the public;

(b) Creation of a separate regulated profession would not create a significant new danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the public;

(c) Creation of a separate regulated profession would benefit the health, safety, or welfare of the public; and

(d) The public cannot be protected by a more effective alternative.

(3) The scope of practice of a regulated health profession shall be changed only when:

(a) The health, safety, and welfare of the public are inadequately addressed by the present scope of practice or limitations on the scope of practice;

(b) Enactment of the proposed change in scope of practice would benefit the health, safety, or welfare of the public;

(c) The proposed change in scope of practice does not create a significant new danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the public;

(d) The current education and training for the health profession adequately prepares practitioners to perform the new skill or service;

(e) There are appropriate postprofessional programs and competence assessment measures available to assure that the practitioner is competent to perform the new skill or service in a safe manner; and

(f) There are adequate measures to assess whether practitioners are competently performing the new skill or service and to take appropriate action if they are not performing competently.

(4) The division shall, by rule and regulation, establish standards for the application of each criterion which shall be used by the review bodies in recommending whether proposals for credentialing or change in scope of practice meet the criteria.

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