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Ariz. governor signs bill prohibiting EMTs from diagnosing patients

The bill’s sponsor said a pattern of counseling people out of transports is not a best practice

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By Leila Merrill

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation that prohibits EMTs from diagnosing patients or discouraging them from being transported to a hospital, 12 News reported Monday.

By prohibiting a presumptive diagnosis, House Bill 2431 keeps EMTs from using such a diagnosis as a justification for not transporting a patient. The law does allow for informing a patient about their right to accept or decline transportation.

A spokesperson for the Phoenix Fire Department previously said that its EMTs and paramedics follow state protocols.

State Rep. Amish Shah, a medical doctor who represents District 24, introduced the legislation after finding research suggesting that Phoenix and other areas had a high rate of “non-transports” compared with other jurisdictions.

“What we’ve seen in these cases is a pattern of counseling people out. And that doesn’t fit in best practice,” Shah told 12 News for a previous article.


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