§ 8121. Certification sanctions.

(a) Grounds for discipline.--The department may discipline an EMS provider or applicant for EMS provider certification for any of the following reasons:

(1) Lack of physical or mental ability to provide adequate services.

(2) Deceptive or fraudulent procurement or representation of certification or registration credentials or for making misleading, deceptive or untrue representations to secure or aid or abet another person to secure a certification, license, registration or any other authorization issued by the department under this chapter.

(3) Willful or negligent misconduct in providing EMS or practicing beyond the scope of certification authorization without legal authority to do so.

(4) Abuse or abandonment of a patient.

(5) The rendering of services while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs or the knowing abuse of legal drugs.

(6) The operation of an emergency vehicle in a reckless manner or while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs or the knowing abuse of legal drugs.

(7) Disclosure of medical or other information about a patient where prohibited by Federal or State law.

(8) Willful preparation or filing of a false medical report or record or the inducement of others to do so.

(9) Destruction of a medical report or record required to be maintained.

(10) Refusal to render emergency medical care because of a patient's race, sex, creed, national origin, sexual preference, age, handicap, medical problem or financial inability to pay.

(11) Failure to comply with department-approved protocols.

(12) Failure to comply with reporting requirements imposed under this chapter or as established by the department.

(13) Practicing without the current registration of a certification.

(14) Conviction of a felony, a crime related to the practice of the EMS provider or a crime involving moral turpitude. For the purposes of this paragraph, a conviction includes a judgment of guilt, a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere.

(15) Willful falsification of or a failure to complete details on an EMS patient care report.

(16) Misappropriation of drugs or EMS agency property.

(17) Having a certification or other authorization to practice a profession or occupation revoked, suspended or subjected to other disciplinary sanction.

(18) Violating or aiding or abetting another person to violate a duty imposed under this chapter, a regulation promulgated under this chapter or an order of the department previously entered in a disciplinary proceeding.

(19) Based upon a finding of misconduct by the relevant Federal or State agency, having been excluded from a Federal or State health care program or having had equity or capital, stock or profits of an entity equal to 5% or more of the value of the property or assets of the entity when it was excluded from a Federal or State health care program.

(20) Any other reason as determined by the department which poses a threat to the health and safety of the public.

(b) Disciplinary options.--If the department is empowered to take disciplinary action against an individual under this section, the department may do one or more of the following:

(1) Deny the application for certification.

(2) Issue a public reprimand.

(3) Revoke, suspend, limit or otherwise restrict the certification.

(4) Require the person to take refresher educational courses.

(5) Impose a civil money penalty not exceeding $1,000 for each incident in which the EMS provider engages in conduct that constitutes a basis for discipline.

(6) Stay enforcement of any suspension, revocation or other discipline and place the individual on probation with the right to vacate the probationary order for noncompliance.

(c) Registration of certification.--The department shall not deny a registration of an EMS provider certification without giving the applicant prior notice of the reason for the denial and providing an opportunity for a hearing.

(d) Reinstatement.--A person whose certification has been revoked may not apply for reinstatement of that certification. A person may petition the department for allowance to apply for a new certification five years from the effective date of the revocation by filing with the department a petition that avers facts to establish that the person has been rehabilitated to an extent that issuing the person a certification would not be detrimental to the public interest. The department may grant or deny the petition, without conducting a hearing, if it accepts as true all facts averred, other than the conclusory averments, such as that the person has been rehabilitated. If the department grants the person allowance to apply for a new certification, the person shall repeat the training program and the certification examinations for the level of certification for which the person is applying and satisfy all other requirements for the certification that exist at the time of reapplication. If the department does not grant the person allowance to apply for a new certification, the person may not again petition the department for allowance to apply for a new certification until another year from the date of denial.

Effective Date. Section 9(1) of Act 37 of 2009 provided that section 8121 shall take effect 180 days after the publication of the notice in section 7.

Cross References. Section 8121 is referred to in sections 8113, 8123, 8124 of this title.