Section 68-11-226 - Licensing of home medical equipment provider(a)(1) The commission shall establish, by rules and regulations, standards by which a home medical equipment provider shall be licensed. The commission shall provide by rule that any home medical equipment provider accredited by the joint commission on accreditation of health care organizations or other home care accrediting organizations recognized by the health care financing administration may submit documents evidencing current accreditation and shall be presumed to comply with the requirements of the commission. Licensing of a home medical equipment provider that has been accredited by the joint commission on accreditation of health care organizations or other home care accrediting organizations recognized by the health care financing administration shall become effective upon written notification from the commission's staff that the accreditation meets the standards set out in the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this section. The commission shall also establish, by rule, provisions to ensure that branch offices of a home medical equipment provider are not required to be separately licensed nor charged separate license fees.(2) The commission shall establish by rule that a provider of home medical equipment services that has a principal place of business outside this state shall identify a contact person who shall provide the state survey agency and its surveyors access to all survey-related material stored in either physical or electronic format upon demand. Such survey items may include, but are not limited to, personnel files, patient medical records, policies and procedures, data, background checks, abuse registry checks, facility reported incidents, litigation and bankruptcy history, current licensure status, copies of investigations, discipline records in any other state in which the provider is licensed, and video records or files if available.(b) Nothing in this section or in [former] § 68-11-102 [repealed] or § 68-11-201 or any other law shall require a home medical equipment provider that provides respiratory care equipment and that employs a respiratory care therapist, technician or assistant for the purpose of assisting patients with the use of such equipment to obtain authority as a provider of home health services.(c) Nothing in this section or in § 68-11-201 requires a person providing home medical equipment services to obtain a certificate of need pursuant to part 16 of this chapter.(d)(1) All home care organizations providing prescribed wheeled mobility devices in this state shall have on staff, or contract with, a qualified rehabilitation professional.(2) Home care organizations providing prescribed wheeled mobility devices shall obtain a complete written evaluation and recommendation by a qualified rehabilitation professional or physical therapist (PT) or occupational therapist (OT) for recipients of prescribed wheeled mobility devices.(3) Home care organizations providing prescribed wheeled mobility devices shall obtain a complete face-to-face written evaluation and recommendation by a qualified rehabilitation professional for consumers of prescribed wheeled mobility devices.(4) On and after July 1, 2007, a one-hundred-eighty-day grace period shall be provided to organizations that provide prescribed wheeled mobility devices, if the qualified rehabilitation professional on staff ceases to be employed and the organization has no other qualified rehabilitation professional on staff.(5)(A) On and after July 1, 2007, all organizations making available prescribed wheeled mobility devices to consumers in this state shall have a repair service department or a contract with a repair service department located in the state. The organization shall have a qualified technician with knowledge and capability of servicing the product provided to the consumer.(B) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "consumer" means an individual for whom a wheeled mobility device, manual or powered, has been prescribed by a physician, and required for use for a period of six (6) months or more.(6) On or after July 1, 2007, delivery and final fitting of a wheeled mobility device shall be determined by a qualified rehabilitation professional. This subsection (d) exempts wheeled mobility devices under category Group 1 medicare codes.(e) Nothing in this section or § 68-11-201 shall require a provider of home medical equipment or services that manufactures or distributes, or both manufactures and distributes, the provider's own company-branded insulin infusion pumps and related supplies and services to have a place of business within the state if the provider: (1) Maintains an employee presence within the state;(2) Is accredited by the joint commission; and(3) Maintains a service telephone number for twenty-four-hour access, seven (7) days a week.Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 466, s 54, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 99, Secs.s 2, s 3 eff. 3/31/2023.Amended by 2015 Tenn. Acts, ch. 476, s 2, eff. 5/18/2015.Acts 1995, ch. 244, §§ 5-7; 1997 , ch. 26, § 1; 2003 , ch. 121, § 3; 2007 , ch. 377, §§ 3, 4; 2010 , ch. 770, § 1.