Pursuant Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency declaration, and Business and Professions Code §900, the following procedure shall be followed to implement subsection 3 of the Order concerning allowing the use of out-of-state medical personnel to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“3. Any out-of-state personnel, including, but not limited to, medical personnel, entering California to assist in preparing for, responding, to, mitigating the effects of, and recovering from COVID-19 shall be permitted to provide services in the same manner as prescribed in Government Code section 179.5, with respect to licensing and certification. Permission for any such individual rendering service is subject to the approval of the Director of the Emergency Medical Services Authority for medical personnel and the Director of the Office of Emergency Services for nonmedical personnel and shall be in effect for a period of time not to exceed the duration of this emergency.”
The EMS Authority will only accept requests for out of state medical personnel approval from a California medical facility, telehealth agency contracted with a California medical facility or a staffing agency providing staffing to California medical facilities, that intends to utilize these resources. A California medical facility is interpreted as a hospital, facility, doctor’s office, alternate care site or health care business currently approved and/or located in California to provide medical care, or medical advice. Any entity that is not currently approved to provide care within California will need to contract with a California medical facility prior to approval being granted.
A medical facility that is unable to secure sufficient staffing from California certified and licensed healthcare professionals or a staffing agency seeking to provide services to such a medical facility may seek out-of-state healthcare professionals to fill the gap with approval from the EMS Authority. A medical facility, telehealth agency or staffing agency that desires to utilize out-of-state healthcare professionals, in preparing for and responding to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, shall submit a written request to the EMS Authority and receive approval for such hires in advance. Please see the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA)’s “Authorization of Out-Of-State Medical Personnel” for more information.