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AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH; LIMITING LIABILITY FOR A GOOD SAMARITAN

WHO COMES TO THE AID OF A PERSON IN APPARENT CARDIAC ARREST;

REVISING LANGUAGE IN THE CARDIAC ARREST RESPONSE ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 24-10C-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,

Chapter 94, Section 3) is amended to read:

"24-10C-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Cardiac Arrest

Response Act:

A. "automated external defibrillator" means a

medical device heart monitor and defibrillator that:

(1) has received approval of its premarket

modification filed pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 360(k), from the

United States food and drug administration;

(2) is capable of recognizing cardiac arrest

that will respond to defibrillation, ventricular fibrillation

or rapid ventricular tachycardia, and is capable of

determining whether defibrillation should be performed; and

(3) upon determining that defibrillation

should be performed, automatically charges and is capable of

delivering an electrical impulse to an individual's heart;

B. "automated external defibrillator program"

means a program of trained targeted responders registered with

the department and operating under the supervision of a

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physician medical director;

C. "defibrillation" means the administration of a

controlled electrical charge to the heart to restore a viable

cardiac rhythm;

D. "department" means the department of health;

E. "good Samaritan" means a person who lacks

automated external defibrillator training but who has access

to an automated external defibrillator and provides emergency

automated external defibrillator services to a person in

apparent cardiac arrest, provided that the good Samaritan:

(1) acts in good faith as an ordinary

prudent person would have in the same or similar

circumstances; and

(2) acts without compensation;

F. "physician" means a doctor of medicine or

doctor of osteopathy who is licensed or otherwise authorized

to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine in New Mexico;

and

G. "trained targeted responder" means a person

trained in the use of an automated external defibrillator

under emergency cardiac care guidelines."

Section 2. Section 24-10C-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,

Chapter 94, Section 4) is amended to read:

"24-10C-4. PROTECTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY.--A person who

acquires an automated external defibrillator shall ensure

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that:

A. a physician medical director oversees all

aspects of the automated external defibrillator program,

including training, emergency medical services coordination,

protocol approval and automated external defibrillator

deployment strategies, and that the physician medical director

provides overall quality assurance and reviews each case in

which the automated external defibrillator is used by the

program;

B. the trained targeted responder receives

appropriate training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and in

the use of an automated external defibrillator by a nationally

recognized course in cardiopulmonary response and automated

external defibrillator use approved by the department or other

training programs authorized by the department;

C. the defibrillator is maintained and tested

according to the manufacturer's guidelines;

D. any person who renders emergency care or

treatment on a person in cardiac arrest by using an automated

external defibrillator activates the emergency medical system

as soon as possible and reports any clinical use of the

automated external defibrillator to the physician medical

director;

E. the automated external defibrillator program is

registered with the department; and

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F. the local emergency medical services and local

911 agencies have been notified of the automated external

defibrillator program."

Section 3. Section 24-10C-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,

Chapter 94, Section 5) is amended to read:

"24-10C-5. AUTHORITY.--A person may acquire an

automated external defibrillator if the person has met all the

requirements of Section 24-10C-4 NMSA 1978. Nothing in this

section limits the right of a person to practice a health

profession that the person is otherwise authorized to practice

in accordance with the laws of New Mexico."

Section 4. Section 24-10C-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,

Chapter 94, Section 6) is amended to read:

"24-10C-6. EXEMPTION.--Nothing in the Cardiac Arrest

Response Act precludes a physician from prescribing an

automated external defibrillator to a patient for use by the

patient's caregiver on an individual patient, and the use does

not require the individual to function in an approved

program."

Section 5. Section 24-10C-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,

Chapter 94, Section 7) is amended to read:

"24-10C-7. LIMITED IMMUNITY PROTECTIONS.--The following

persons who render emergency care or treatment by the use of

an automated external defibrillator pursuant to the provisions

of the Cardiac Arrest Response Act shall not be subject to

civil liability, provided that they have acted with reasonable

care and in compliance with the requirements of that act:

A. a physician who provides supervisory services

pursuant to the Cardiac Arrest Response Act;

B. a person who provides training in

cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of automated external

defibrillation;

C. a person who acquires an automated external

defibrillator pursuant to the Cardiac Arrest Response Act;

D. the owner of the property or facility where the

automated external defibrillator is located;

E. the trained targeted responder; and

F. a good Samaritan."

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