Title 44, Health

(A) The department may establish a trauma data collection and evaluation system, known as the "Trauma Registry". The Trauma Registry must be designed to include, but must not be limited to, trauma studies, patient care and outcomes, compliance with standards of verification, and …

(A) Such equipment as deemed necessary by the department must be required of organizations applying for ambulance permits. Each licensee of an ambulance shall comply with regulations as may be promulgated by the board and shall maintain in each ambulance, when it is in use as suc…

This article may be cited as the "Stroke System of Care Act of 2011" and is based on recommendations of the Stroke System of Care Study Committee provided for in Act 121 of 2009.

The General Assembly finds that: (1) An effective system to support optimal stroke care is needed in our communities in order to treat stroke patients in a timely manner, improve the overall treatment of stroke patients, increase survival, and decrease the disabilities associated…

As used in this article: (1) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. (2) "Director" means the Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. (3) "Joint Commission" means the Joint Commission, formerly k…

(A) The director shall identify hospitals that meet the criteria set forth in this article as primary stroke centers and stroke enabled centers through telemedicine. (B) The department shall establish a process to recognize as "primary stroke centers" as many accredited acute car…

Organizations applying for emergency medical responder licensure must comply with equipment, training, and certification standards and other requirements promulgated by the department in regulation.

(A) There is established a Stroke System of Care Advisory Council to be appointed by the director of the department. Representation on the council must be as geographically diverse as possible and composed of, but not limited to, knowledgeable and experienced individuals from the…

(A)(1) The department, before June first of each year, shall distribute the list of primary stroke centers, stroke enabled centers through telemedicine, and other centers that meet the criteria for disease-specific certification or accreditation programs as they become available …

(A) The department, in consultation with the Stroke System of Care Advisory Council, shall: (1) provide assistance for sharing information and data among health care providers on ways to improve the quality of care; (2) facilitate the communication and analysis of health informat…

This article is not a medical practice guideline and may not be used to restrict the authority of a hospital to provide services for which it has received a license under state law. The General Assembly intends that all patients be treated individually, based on each patient's ne…

(A) The department has the authority to promulgate regulations to carry out the purposes of this article. (B) All of the department's duties pursuant to this article are contingent upon adequate funding to cover the department's operating and administrative costs and upon the pro…

(A) The department may enforce rules, regulations, and standards promulgated pursuant to this article. An enforcement action taken by the department may be appealed pursuant to Article 3, Chapter 23, Title 1. (B) Grounds for an enforcement action against an authorization, license…

In order to protect the public through verification of competency and ensure accountability for patient care-related activities all states license emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, such as emergency medical technicians (EMTs), advanced EMTs and paramedics. This compact …

For purposes of this article: (1) "Advanced emergency medical technician" or "AEMT" means an individual licensed with cognitive knowledge and a scope of practice that corresponds to that level in the National EMS Education Standards and National EMS Scope of Practice Model. (2) "…

(A) Any member state in which an individual holds a current license shall be deemed a home state for purposes of this compact. (B) Any member state may require an individual to obtain and retain a license to be authorized to practice in the member state under circumstances not au…

(A) Member states shall recognize the privilege to practice of an individual licensed in another member state that is in conformance with Section 44-61-730. (B) To exercise the privilege to practice under the terms and provisions of this compact, an individual must: (1) be at lea…

An individual may practice in a remote state under a privilege to practice only in the performance of the individual's EMS duties as assigned by an appropriate authority, as defined in the rules of the Commission, and under the following circumstances: (1) the individual originat…

Upon a member state's governor's declaration of a state of emergency or disaster that activates the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), all relevant terms and provisions of EMAC shall apply and to the extent any terms or provisions of this compact conflicts with EMAC,…

(A) Member states shall consider a veteran, active military service member, and member of the National Guard and Reserves separating from an active duty tour, and a spouse thereof, who holds a current valid and unrestricted NREMT certification at or above the level of the state l…

(A) A home state shall have exclusive power to impose adverse action against an individual's license issued by the home state. (B)(1) If an individual's license in any home state is restricted or suspended, the individual shall not be eligible to practice in a remote state under …

A member state's EMS authority, in addition to any other powers granted under state law, is authorized under this compact to: (1) issue subpoenas for both hearings and investigations that require the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence. Subpoenas …

(A) All ambulance attendants shall obtain a valid emergency medical technician certificate unless an exception is granted pursuant to regulations promulgated by the department. A person who provides patient care that is within the scope of an emergency medical technician without …

(A)(1) The compact states hereby create and establish a joint public agency known as the Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice. (2) The Commission is a body politic and an instrumentality of the compact states. (3) Venue is proper and judicial proceedings by or against…

(A) The Commission shall provide for the development and maintenance of a coordinated database and reporting system containing licensure, adverse action, and significant investigatory information on all licensed individuals in member states. (B) Notwithstanding any other provisio…

(A) The Commission shall exercise its rulemaking powers pursuant to the criteria set forth in this section and the rules adopted thereunder. Rules and amendments shall become binding as of the date specified in each rule or amendment. (B) If a majority of the legislatures of the …

(A)(1) The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government in each member state shall enforce this compact and take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the compact's purposes and intent. (2) All courts shall take judicial notice of the compact an…

(A) The compact shall come into effect on the date on which the compact statute is enacted into law in the tenth-member state. The provisions, which become effective at that time, shall be limited to the powers granted to the Commission relating to assembly and the promulgation o…

This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes thereof. If this compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of any member state thereto, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining member states. Nothing in this compact…

Each licensee shall maintain records that include approved patient care report forms, employee or member rosters or both, and training records. These records must be available for inspection by the department at any reasonable time and copies must be furnished to the department u…

The Department of Health and Environmental Control shall prepare the necessary methods and forms for obtaining vital statistics.

(A) A petition may be filed in the South Carolina family court of petitioner's residence, or if petitioner no longer resides in South Carolina, in a court of competent jurisdiction in the state of petitioner's residence, for an order establishing a record of the name at birth, su…

For making, furnishing, or certifying any card, certificate, or certified copy of the record, for filing a record amendment according to the provisions of Section 44-63-60, 44-63-80, 44-63-90 or 44-63-100, or for searching the record, when no card, certificate, or certified copy …

The state registrar shall remit all fees received by him under the provisions of this chapter to the State Treasurer each month.

Upon receipt of a certified Certificate of Adoption pursuant to Section 63-9-790: (1)(a) For a person born in this State, the state registrar shall prepare a supplementary Certificate of Birth in the name of the adoptee, free of any reference to or indication of the fact that the…

Correction of mistakes in birth and death certificates may be made by the state registrar upon written application duly verified and sworn to by the appropriate person as required by regulation and upon receipt of supporting evidence when required by regulation. Certificates corr…

To amend a birth record of a child legitimized under the provisions of Section 20-1-60 or 20-1-70, the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall require an affidavit of both parents and a certified copy of the parents' marriage record. However, if either the mother or the reputed father i…

(A) It is unlawful for a person: (1) other than the Department of Health and Environmental Control and county health departments to issue copies or certified copies of birth and death certificates or a document purporting to be a birth or death certificate; (2) to wilfully make a…

Upon entry of a court order or an administrative determination that the putative father is the legal father pursuant to Section 63-17-70(A), the clerk of court shall send a report to the Registrar of the Division of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health and Environmental C…

A certificate must be prepared for a child born out of wedlock in this State to include the name of the father upon receipt of a sworn acknowledgment of paternity signed by both parents to include the surname by which the child is to be known. However, if the reputed father or th…

Any individual born in this State prior to 1915 who has no official record of his birth may register a delayed birth certificate under the direction of the state registrar with the county health department in the county in which he was born. Nothing in this chapter makes the regi…

The Department of Health and Environmental Control shall establish a bureau of vital statistics and provide an adequate system for the registration and certification of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces by formulating, promulgating, and enforcing regulations prescribing the…

The Director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control is the state registrar of vital statistics and shall carry into effect the regulations and orders of the department. The department shall provide suitable apartments properly equipped with fireproof vaults and fil…

The State Registrar must appoint the chief administrative officer of each county health department as the county registrar. All persons in the county required by law to file reports of birth, death, and fetal death must transmit these reports to the State Registrar at intervals p…

(A) The state registrar shall develop a form entitled "Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth" for distribution to all South Carolina delivering hospitals. The hospital shall provide and offer to complete this form, prior to discharge, for mothers whose delivery resulted in…

The state registrar, upon application by those entitled pursuant to Section 44-63-80, 44-63-82, 44-63-84, or 44-63-86, shall furnish a certificate under the seal of the department showing data from the records of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces registered with the departm…