Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act
ISSUE SUMMARY
The Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act (UEVHPA), promulgated by the Uniform Law Commission responds to a serious problem caused by a lack of uniformity in state laws that was revealed during the horrific hurricane season of 2005. Doctors, nurses, EMTs, mental health professionals, coroners, and other health professionals providing needed individual and public health services from outside the affected Gulf Coast states who volunteered to provide desperately needed assistance to disaster victims were seriously delayed, and in some cases prevented, from providing services because they were unable to quickly and clearly obtain authorization to practice within the affected states.
The UEVHPA establishes legal guidelines for recognizing other states’ licenses for physicians and other health care practitioners who volunteer to provide assistance during the time of a declared emergency. It also addresses issues of workers’ compensation coverage and civil liability protections for physicians and other licensed health care practitioners.
ADOPTED ACTION OR POLICY
KMS shall appoint a task force to study the implications surrounding the potential enactment of the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act model legislation in Kansas. During its discussions, the task force should take into consideration the potential impact on workers’ compensation laws and current civil liability protections. The task force is directed to provide its report to the KMS Executive Committee prior to the 2012 Kansas Legislative session.
Adopted by the KMS House of Delegates on April 30, 2011.
