Arkansas Administrative Code

17 CAR § 45-113. Continuing education. (a) Required hours: (1)(A) Orthotists and prosthetists must biennially complete thirty (30) hours of continuing education in courses applicable to his or her profession. (B) A person who is licensed in more than one (1) profession under this…

17 CAR § 45-114. Code of ethics. (a) Preamble. (1) The purpose of a code of ethics is to acknowledge a profession’s acceptance of the responsibility and trust conferred upon it by society and to recognize the internal obligations inherent in that trust. (2) The following paragrap…

17 CAR § 46-101. Purpose. (a) These rules establish minimum standards for licensure of perfusionists in Arkansas. (b) These standards are not static and are subject to periodic revisions in the future as new knowledge and changes in patient care trends become apparent. (c) Perfus…

17 CAR § 46-102. Definitions. As used in this part: (1) “ABCP” means the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion; (2) “Automatic licensure” means granting the occupational licensure without an individual having met occupational licensure requirements provided under the Arkansa…

17 CAR § 46-103. Licensure. (a) Requirements. (1) Any person is eligible to make application to the State Board of Health and receive a license, subject to the provisions of Arkansas Code § 17-104-101 et seq. as amended. (2)(A) A licensed perfusionist shall conform to the code of…

17 CAR § 46-104. Code of ethics. (a) Preamble. (1) The purpose of a code of ethics is to acknowledge a profession’s acceptance of the responsibility and trust conferred upon it by society and to recognize the internal obligations inherent in that trust. (2) The following paragrap…

17 CAR § 47-101. Definitions. As used in this part, the terms below will be defined as follows, except where the context clearly requires otherwise: (1)(A) “Advertisement” and “advertising” means any statements, oral or written, disseminated to or before the public, with the inte…

17 CAR § 47-102. Scope of practice. (a)(1) The LLM may provide midwifery care according to the protocols in this part only to healthy women, determined through a physical assessment and review of the woman’s health and obstetric history: (A) Who are at low risk for the developmen…

17 CAR § 47-103. Title protection. (a)(1) A person may not practice or offer to act as a lay midwife in Arkansas unless licensed by the State Board of Health. (2) It is unlawful for any person not licensed as a lay midwife by the board to: (A) Receive compensation for attending b…

17 CAR § 47-104. Delegation of licensed lay midwifery functions. (a)(1) An LLM assistant may be engaged by the LLM to complement their work, but shall not be used as a substitute for the LLM. (2) Tasks that may be delegated to the LLM assistant before an assessment of the client’…

17 CAR § 47-105. Advertising. (a) The Department of Health permits advertising by LLMs regarding the practice of licensed lay midwifery in accordance with this part. (b)(1) No LLM shall disseminate or cause the dissemination of any advertisement or advertising that is in any way …

17 CAR § 47-106. Immunizations. All LLMs and their apprentices are strongly encouraged to: (1) Have routine vaccinations to the fullest extent unless contraindicated; and (2) Not to rely on the immunization status of others or herd immunity to protect them, their clients, and the…

17 CAR § 47-107. Midwifery Advisory Board. (a) The State Board of Health shall establish and appoint the Midwifery Advisory Board (MAB) to advise the Department of Health and the State Board of Health on matters pertaining to the regulation of midwifery. (b) Purpose, duties, and …

17 CAR § 47-108. Continuing education activities of the Midwifery Advisory Board. For the purpose of this part, the MAB will process the review of continuing education credits by the following criteria: (1) The application for review: (A) Must be received by the MAB at least sixt…

17 CAR § 47-201. Generally. (a)(1) An LLM license, valid for up to three (3) years, is issued upon application and favorable review. (2) Application materials and instructions are available: (A) From the Department of Health website; or (B) By contacting the Women’s Health Sectio…

17 CAR § 47-202. Eligibility requirements for initial licensure. Applicants for initial licensure must meet the following requirements, except for those noted in 17 CAR § 47-201(c): (1) An applicant for an initial license to practice midwifery shall submit: (A) A completed applic…

17 CAR § 47-203. Renewal. (a)(1) Licenses expire on August 31 of the renewal year, and applications and documentation must be submitted by July 2 of the renewal year to be timely. (2) Renewal will only occur upon receipt of application and favorable review of required activity re…

17 CAR § 41-204. Grounds for denial of application, discipline, suspension, or revocation of license. The Department of Health may refuse to issue, suspend, or revoke a license for violation of the Licensed Lay Midwife Act, Arkansas Code § 17-85-101 et seq., or any provision of t…

17 CAR § 47-205. Disciplinary actions. (a)(1) Suspected cases involving violation of the Licensed Lay Midwifery Act, Arkansas Code § 17-85-101 et seq. or this part may be referred by the Department of Health to the State Board of Health for a hearing, according to the Arkansas Ad…

17 CAR § 47-206. Inactive status. (a) Inactive status is automatic on the day after the license expires. (b)(1) LLMs who do not maintain a current license will be considered inactive. (2) Inactive status may be maintained for up to three (3) years. (c) An LLM with inactive status…

17 CAR § 47-207. Reactivation of expired license. (a) After three (3) years, a license in inactive status automatically expires. (b) To become relicensed the applicant must successfully fulfill all of the requirements for initial licensure as outlined in 17 CAR § 47-202.…

17 CAR § 47-208. Apprenticeships. (a) Apprentices who hold a valid permit prior to the effective date of this part will follow the requirements found in Appendix B: Transitional Provisions and Forms. (b)(1) An LLM will be responsible for notifying the Department of Health of any …

17 CAR § 47-209. Licensure of uniformed service members, uniformed service veterans, and their spouses. (a) Applicability. This section applies to: (1) A uniformed service member stationed in the State of Arkansas; (2) A uniformed service veteran who resides in or establishes res…

17 CAR § 47-210. Reciprocal licensure. (a)(1) Pursuant to Acts 2019, No. 1011, reciprocal licensure will be granted based on substantially equivalent licensure in another United States jurisdiction. (2) Refer to 17 CAR § 47-202(1)(E) of this part for all certifications deemed sub…

17 CAR § 47-301. Generally. The LLM must adhere to the LLM protocols as outlined in this part.

17 CAR § 47-302. Requirements for licensed lay midwifery practice. (a) The following requirements must be met before a LLM can legally accept a client: (1) Licensing. (A) The LLM must possess a current Arkansas Lay Midwife License. (B) See 17 CAR § 47-201 et seq.; (2) Disclosure …

17 CAR § 47-303. Protocol for required antepartum care. (a) Risk assessment or assessments. (1) Risk assessments shall be performed by a physician, a CNM, or a Department of Health clinician. (2) The purpose of these visits is to ensure that the client has no potentially serious …

17 CAR § 17-304. Protocol for antepartum conditions requiring intervention. (a) Each client is to have a risk assessment (see 17 CAR § 47-303(a)) documented by a physician, CNM, or Department of Health clinician at or near the initiation of care and again around the thirty-sixth …

17 CAR § 47-305. Protocol for required intrapartum care. (a) Initial labor assessment. As soon as possible but within one (1) hour following the onset of active labor (five to six centimeters (5 – 6 cm) with regular and painful contractions) or as soon as possible but within one …

17 CAR § 47-306. Protocol for intrapartum conditions requiring physician or CNM intervention. (a) Immediate transport. The following intrapartum conditions preclude midwifery care, and when identified, the client must be transported to the planned hospital by the most expedient m…

17 CAR § 47-307. Protocol for required postpartum care. (a) Immediate care. The LLM must remain in attendance for at least two (2) hours after the delivery and shall assess and record the following: (1) Immediately following the delivery of the placenta, the LLM shall: (A) Determ…

17 CAR § 47-308. Protocol for postpartum conditions requiring physician or CNM intervention. (a) Immediate transport. The following postpartum conditions preclude midwifery care and when identified, the client must be transported to the hospital indicated in the emergency plan by…

17 CAR § 47-309. Protocol for required newborn care. (a)(1) The LLM shall be responsible for newborn care immediately following the delivery and care of the healthy newborn for the first fourteen (14) days of life unless care is transferred to a physician or APRN specializing in …

17 CAR § 47-310. Protocol for newborn conditions requiring physician intervention. (a) Immediate transport. (1) The following newborn conditions, when identified, require immediate transport of the newborn to the hospital by the most expedient method of transportation available t…

17 CAR § 47-401. Emergency measures. (a) The LLM must: (1) Consult a licensed physician or CNM whenever there are significant deviations from normal in either the mother or the newborn; and (2) Act in accordance with the instructions of the physician or CNM. (b) In those situatio…

17 CAR § 47-501. Monthly reports. (a) A monthly reporting log, referred to as the “Caseload” and “Birth Log” (found in Appendix A or available on the Department of Health website), will be maintained and sent to the department postmarked no later than the tenth of each month rega…

17 CAR § 47-502. Incident reports. (a)(1) When any complication occurs (whether or not the LLM remained in attendance) the care must be documented in greater detail using Department of Health forms (found in Appendix A or available on the department website). (2) The LLM shall se…

17 CAR § 47-503. Record audits. (a) The Department of Health will audit selected records from each LLM’s practice each year. (b) The purpose of the audit will be to confirm compliance with this part. (c) The LLM will be required to submit the records for each client selected by t…

17 CAR § 47-504. Documentation by LLM apprentices. (a)(1) LLMs supervising an apprentice midwife should record the name of the apprentice on the Birth Log when the apprentice provided care during the intrapartum and immediate postpartum period. (2) Because the LLM is responsible …

17 CAR § 47-505. Reporting maternal, fetal, or newborn events. (a) The LLM is required to track maternal and newborn events for thirty (30) days unless care is terminated by the client. (b) Maternal events, pregnancy loss at any gestational age, or newborn events must be reported…

17 CAR § 47-506. Client health record. (a) The LLM is responsible for ensuring that all required services are documented on client records maintained by the LLM. (b) Each page of the client record must contain the client ID number. (c) The records will remain confidential. (d) Th…

17 CAR § 47-507. Vital records. The LLM shall follow all applicable laws pertaining to vital records.

17 CAR § 47-601. Granting new permits and licenses. The Department of Health shall review applications for licensure and issue licenses or permits.

17 CAR § 47-602. Registration listing. The Department of Health shall maintain a list of all LLMs and Apprentice Midwives in the State of Arkansas, and make this list available to the public.

17 CAR § 47-603. Monitoring outcomes. (a) The Department of Health shall monitor perinatal outcomes of home births attended by LLMs and publish these statistics annually. (b) The department shall also review LLMs’ records to ensure that such LLMs are practicing within regulatory …

17 CAR § 47-604. Investigation. (a) The Department of Health will conduct investigations regarding complaints or deviations from this part. (b) The department will consider all available information that is relevant and material to the investigations. (c)(1) Where, in the opinion…

17 CAR § 47-605. Administration of tests. The Department of Health shall administer the Arkansas Rules Examination at least three (3) times per year.