1797.260.
(a) A local EMS agency may submit, as part of its emergency medical services plan, a plan to transport
patients, who meet the triage criteria, to a behavioral health facility or to a sobering center. The plan shall include at least all of the following:(1) Standardized triage criteria and assessment procedures based on peer-reviewed data to be used by EMT-Ps to identify patients to be transported to a behavioral health facility or to a sobering center. The local EMS agency shall revise the triage criteria and the assessment procedures to adhere to guidelines developed by the authority pursuant to Section 1797.119.
(2) One or more policies for the treatment of patients being transported to a behavioral health facility or to a sobering center.
(3) One or more policies for the prompt transfer of patient care between
prehospital care personnel and medical personnel at a behavioral health facility or at a sobering center, including, but not limited to, an assessment to determine if the patient’s condition requires transport to an emergency department of a general acute care hospital.
(4) A list of behavioral health facilities and of sobering centers that have agreed to participate and their hours of operation, including the hours when they are available to receive patients.
(5) A quality improvement plan that includes, notwithstanding Sections 4514 and 5328 of the Welfare and institutions Code, the submission of service data to the local EMS agency and the EMS authority by participating behavioral health facilities and sobering centers, as necessary to ensure the quality of the EMS services being
provided. The data shall be redacted as necessary to ensure patient confidentiality and shall be reported in aggregate form only, with no personally identifiable patient information.
(6) (A) For transport to a behavioral health facility, a training component as follows:
(i) A requirement that a participating EMT-P complete at least 32 hours of instruction on all of the following:
(I) Behavioral health crisis intervention, provided by a licensed physician and surgeon with experience in the emergency department of a general acute care hospital.
(II) Assessment and treatment of intoxicated patients.
(III) Local EMS agency policies for the triage, treatment, transport, and transfer of care, of patients to a behavioral health facility.
(ii) A requirement that the local EMS agency verify that the participating EMT-P has completed training in all of the following topics meeting the standards of the United States Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration National Emergency Medical Services Education Standards:
(I) Psychiatric disorders.
(II) Neuropharmacology.
(III) Alcohol and substance abuse.
(IV) Patient consent.
(V) Patient documentation.
(VI) Medical quality improvement.
(B) For transport to a sobering center, a training component that requires a participating EMT-P to complete at least 8 hours of instruction, with a 4-hour online didactic portion and a 4-hour classroom portion, on all of the following:
(i) The impact of alcohol intoxication on the local public health and emergency medical services system.
(ii) Alcohol and substance use disorders.
(iii) Triage and transport parameters.
(iv) Health risks and interventions in stabilizing
acutely intoxicated persons.
(v) Common conditions with presentations similar to intoxication.
(vi) Disease process, behavioral emergencies, and injury patterns common to those with chronic alcohol use disorders.
(7) A policy requiring that a patient who meets the triage criteria for transport to behavioral health facility or to a sobering center, but who requests to be transported to the emergency department of a general acute care hospital, shall be transported to the emergency department of a general acute care hospital.
(8) A policy requiring that a patient who is transported to a
behavioral health facility or to a sobering center and, upon assessment, is found to no longer meet the criteria for admission to a behavioral health facility or to a sobering center shall be immediately transported to the emergency department of a general acute care hospital.
(8)
(9) A provision setting forth the recommendations of the appropriate county agency or director, including the county mental health director, for the transport of persons to a behavioral health facility, in support of the plan to transport patients meeting triage criteria to a behavioral health facility or to a sobering
center.
(9)
(10) Provisions setting forth procedures for notification of next of kin and for the protection of the confidentiality of patient records consistent with applicable law, including, but not limited to, the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 56) of Division 1 of the Civil Code), Sections 4514 and 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the privacy provisions of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-191).
(b) This section does
not authorize a local EMS agency to adopt policies authorizing an EMT-P to initiate an involuntary detention or hold of a patient under Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code.