Bills
| 3.23.22

Do Paramedics Need to Legally be Able to Administer Narcotics to Patients? (H.R. 304)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 304?

(Updated March 22, 2018)

This bill was enacted on November 17, 2017

This bill would clarify existing law to ensure that emergency medical responders are able to administer controlled substances — like pain narcotics and anti-seizure medications — under the supervision of a physician. It would let paramedics, nurses, or emergency medical service (EMS) providers give patients those medicines based on instructions given by physicians ahead of time.

An existing policy that allows standing orders to be granted by a physician about the administration of controlled substances would be made into law. The physician would retain oversight over medical decisions.

EMS responsible would be liable for receiving, storing, and tracking controlled substances under their care in a manner similar to current procedures at hospitals.

Argument in favor

Paramedics and other emergency medical technicians often assist patients when they are in dire need of pain medication or anti-seizure drugs, so it needs to be legally clear that they can administer those medications.

Argument opposed

Existing law doesn’t need to be clarified to ensure that paramedics can administer drugs that are considered controlled substances without a doctor being present, it’s already permitted and that policy will remain in effect.

Impact

Emergency medical responders; their patients; and doctors.

Cost of H.R. 304

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced this bill to ensure that the law clearly allows emergency medical responders to administer controlled substances when treating patients:

“Without this solution, we risk sacrificing emergency care and endangering patients simply because law and regulation have no kept up with the evolution of modern medicine. This legislation is an important clarification of law that allows our first responders to continue administering life-saving medications when they need them most.”

In the 114th Congress, this legislation passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House as a whole voice votes before stalling in the Senate. It currently has the bipartisan support of 19 cosponsors in the House — including 10 Republicans and 9 Democrats.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: James Hellman, MD / Creative Commons)