N.H. Admin. Code Plc, ch. Plc 1500, app C
326-E:1 Definitions
II. "Certified pulmonary function technician" or "CPFT" means a person having successfully completed and achieved a passing score on the entry level examination in pulmonary function and maintained the related credential issued by the National Board for Respiratory Care, Inc.
III. "Consultation by telecommunication" means that a respiratory care practitioner renders professional or expert opinion or advice via telecommunications or computer technology from another location. It includes the transfer of data or exchange of educational or related information by any means of audio, video, or data communications.
IV. "National Board for Respiratory Care, Inc." or "NBRC" means the national voluntary health certifying board that evaluates the professional competence of respiratory therapists and pulmonary function technicians, or its successor organization.
VIII. "Registered polysomnographic technologist" or "RPSGT" means a person having successfully completed and achieved a passing score on the comprehensive registry examination for polysomnographic technologists administered by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists or its successor organization.
IX. "Registered pulmonary function technologist" or "RPFT" means a person having successfully completed and achieved a passing score on the advanced level examination in pulmonary function and maintained the related credential issued by the National Board for Respiratory Care, Inc.
X. "Respiratory care" means the treatment, management, diagnostic testing and evaluation of responses to respiratory or medical treatment and care of individuals or groups of individuals either having deficiencies or abnormalities of the cardiopulmonary system or requiring support of the cardiopulmonary system. Respiratory care is given in accordance with the prescription of a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. Respiratory care includes the implementation of respiratory care strategies and modalities, and the administration of pharmacological, diagnostic, and therapeutic agents necessary to implement a treatment, disease or injury prevention, rehabilitative or diagnostic regimen. Respiratory care includes, but is not limited to: initiating emergency procedures; providing health counseling and teaching; assembly, repair, testing and maintenance of respiratory equipment; and those respiratory care activities that require a substantial amount of scientific knowledge or technical skill.
XI. "Respiratory care educational program" means a program accredited by the American Medical Association's Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation in collaboration with the Joint Review Committee for Respiratory Therapy Education, by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care, or by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, or their successor organizations.
XII. "Respiratory care practitioner" means a person who is:
(a) Licensed in the practice or performance of respiratory care who has the knowledge and skill necessary to administer the functions defined in paragraph X of this section.
(b) Capable of serving as a resource in relation to the clinical and technical aspects of respiratory care as to the safe and effective methods for administering respiratory care modalities.
(c) Able to function in situations of unsupervised patient contact requiring individual judgment.
(d) Capable of supervising, directing, and teaching less skilled personnel in the provision of respiratory care services.
Source. 2003, 310:2. 2005, 293:9. 2009, 54:5, eff. July 21, 2009. 2022, 72:15, eff. July 19, 2022.
RSA 326-E:6 Exemptions From Licensure. -
I. This chapter shall not prohibit:
(a) A person matriculated in an education program approved by the board who is pursuing a degree in respiratory care or respiratory therapy from satisfying supervised clinical education requirements related to the person's respiratory care education while under direct supervision of a respiratory care practitioner or physician.
(b) A respiratory care practitioner from practicing in the Armed Forces, federal public health services, or the Department of Veterans Affairs, pursuant to federal regulations of health care providers.
(c) A respiratory care practitioner who is licensed in another jurisdiction of the United States from providing consultation by telecommunication.
(d) A respiratory care practitioner who is licensed in another jurisdiction of the United States or foreign educated respiratory care practitioner credentialed in another country from practicing respiratory care in conjunction with teaching or participating in an educational seminar of no more than 60 days in a calendar year.
(e) Respiratory care performed as part of a limited scope of practice, as defined by the executive director, in consultation with the advisory board, by certified pulmonary function technicians (CPFT), registered pulmonary function technologists (RPFT) or registered polysomnographic technologists (RPSGT) in a diagnostic laboratory or research setting.
(f) Respiratory care rendered in an emergency.
(g) Self care by a patient or gratuitous care by family members or friends who do not represent themselves as respiratory care practitioners.
(h) A respiratory care practitioner who is licensed in another jurisdiction of the United States or foreign educated respiratory care practitioner credentialed in another country from practicing respiratory care in conjunction with the interfacility transport of a critically ill patient.
(i) A polysomnography trainee from fulfilling the training and experiential clinical requirements established by the Board of Polysomnographic Technologists for eligibility for the RPSGT examination, while working under the indirect supervision of a physician, a respiratory care practitioner, or a RPSGT.
II. This chapter shall not restrict a person licensed under any other law of this state from engaging in the profession or practice for which that person is licensed if that person does not represent, imply, or claim that he or she is a respiratory care practitioner or a provider of respiratory care.
Source. 2003, 310:2, eff. July 1, 2003. 2022, 72:16, eff. July 19, 2022.
N.H. Admin. Code Plc, ch. Plc 1500, app C