O.C.G.A. § 31-11-54 (2019)
Services which may be rendered by paramedics and paramedic trainees
(a) Upon certification by the department, paramedics may perform any service that a cardiac technician is permitted to perform. In addition, upon the order of a duly licensed physician and subject to the conditions set forth in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 31-11-55, paramedics may perform any other procedures which they have been both trained and certified to perform, including, but not limited to:
(1) Administration of parenteral injections of diuretics, anticonvulsants, hypertonic glucose, antihistamines, bronchodilators, emetics, narcotic antagonists, and others, and administration of opioid antagonists;
(2) Cardioversion; and
(3) Endotracheal suction.
(b) While in training preparatory to becoming certified, paramedic trainees may perform any of the functions specified in this Code section under the direct supervision of a duly licensed physician, a registered nurse, or an approved paramedic clinical preceptor.
History
Code 1933, § 88-3112.5, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 281, § 6; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1923, § 4; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1782, § 2; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1145, § 4; Ga. L. 2014, p. 683, § 2-4/HB 965.
Annotations
Editor’s notes. - Ga. L. 2014, p. 683, § 2-1/HB 965, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: ‘‘WHEREAS, Naloxone is an opioid antagonist developed to counter the effects of opiate overdose, specifically the life threatening depression of the central nervous and respiratory systems; and ‘‘WHEREAS, Naloxone is clinically administered via intramuscular, intravenous, or subcutaneous injection; and ‘‘WHEREAS, Naloxone is administered outside of a clinical setting or facility intranasally via nasal atomizer; and ‘‘WHEREAS, the American Medical Association supported the lay administration of this life saving drug in 2012; and ‘‘WHEREAS, similar Naloxone access laws have reversed more than 10,000 opi-
oid overdoses by lay people in other states; and ‘‘WHEREAS, the American Medical Association acknowledged that ‘fatalities caused by opioid overdose can devastate families and communities, and we must do more to prevent these unnecessary deaths’; and ‘‘WHEREAS, the National Institutes of Health found that Naloxone ‘lacks any psychoactive or addictive qualities . . . without any potential for abuse . . . [and] medical side effects or other problematic unintended consequences associated with Naloxone have not been reported’; and ‘‘WHEREAS, any administration of Naloxone to an individual experiencing an opioid overdose must be followed by professional medical attention and treatment.’’ Ga. L. 2014, p. 683, § 3-1/HB 965, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that Parts I and II of this Act shall apply to all acts committed on or after April 24, 2014.