Expedited License Process

On March 30, 2020 Governor Baker signed the "Maximizing Available Health Care Providers Order" which requires an expedited process for healthcare providers to get a license. This order includes respiratory therapists and would allow for any respiratory therapist who has a license in any other state to get a license here in Massachusetts for the duration of the state of emergency. A member of the MSRC spoke with the licensure department to ask if they have any update to this order as we are in a critical need of additional RTs in the state. Due to the limited staffing in the department due to the crisis, information provided was limited as they continue to sort through the requirements of the order and the required processes.

At this time there is no application in place for this expedited process. The licensure staff advised that this is being worked on as it also affects more than just the RT licenses. They are expecting to have a solution in place within days, not weeks. They have asked that we try and limit the calls/emails to the office as they are being required to limit the amount of staff in the office, responses are very delayed. The MSRC through the contact us page will gather questions and send them in batches to the licensure office.

Please be safe.

Jason Moury, MPH, RRT

Massachusetts Society for Respiratory Care - Public Statement - Multiple Patients per Single Ventilator

Whitman, MA/March 26, 2020/ With the current pandemic on-going, there is a shortage of mechanical ventilators required for patient with severe symptoms of COVID-19. As hospitals struggle with this, many are turning to the web to see if using a single mechanical ventilator for multiple patients can be done. 

The AARC (American Association of Respiratory Care) along with other professional medical organizations from across the U.S. this week released a consensus statement addressing the question of placing multiple patients on one ventilator which“...advise(s) clinicians that sharing mechanical ventilators should not be attempted because it cannot be done safely with current equipment.” 

https://www.aarc.org/joint-statement-guidance-document-on-multiple-patients-per-ventilator/ 

The Massachusetts Society of Respiratory Care (MSRC) is in full agreement with this consensus statement and discourages this practice to be used in Massachusetts hospitals. 

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the MSRC. 

Contact information: 

Keith Hirst, MS RRT 
Massachusetts Society for Respiratory Care 
207-233-9858 (cell) 

About the MSRC 

Established in 1978, the Massachusetts Society for Respiratory Care (MSRC) is a charter organization of the American Association for Respiratory Care. 

The MSRC is a non-profit corporation that was formed in 1978. The corporation is organized to sponsor and encourage, on a regional and statewide basis, educational programs for those persons interested in the field of respiratory care: to advance the science, technology, ethics and art of respiratory care through state, interstate and intrastate institutes, meetings, lectures, newsletters and other materials; and to facilitate cooperation between respiratory care personnel and the medical profession, hospitals, government agencies, service companies, industry and other agencies or organizations interested in respiratory care or pulmonary medicine. 

Massachusetts Continuing Education Changes

The MSRC has received multiple requests for an update on the proposed changes to the continuing education requirements. The Massachusetts Board of Respiratory Care has not made a decision on the proposed changes.

When the Board of Respiratory Care makes their decision on the proposed changes, we will notify the membership. Please click on the link above to learn more about the proposed changes.

2018 Virtual Lobby Week

Today, April 11th, kicks off the AARC Virtual Lobby Campaign.  Every year the AARC and the state affiliates send representatives to Washington DC to advocate for the profession and ultimately the patients that we provide care for.  This year the AARC Hill Day is on May 1st.   Donna Sullivan and myself along with about 200+ people from around the country will be meeting with Senators and House Representatives from our respective states and districts asking them to support RT and Telehealth.    We are asking Congress to support a pilot study that uses Respiratory Therapists as Telehealth Practitioners.  To learn more about the proposed pilot study, you can go to the AARC Virtual Lobby site (http://www.aarc.org/advocacy/congressional-legislation/aarc-virtual-lobby-campaign/) 

Before we meet with them on May 1st, we need to have YOU help us.  We need you to reach out to your House Representative and Senators to let them know how important it is that they support Respiratory Therapy and Telehealth.  You can do this by going to the AARC Phone to Action site (https://p2a.co/lowDE4J)  There you can find the links.  Click on the link that fits your category and from there, a couple of bits of information (Name, Address, email etc.) and you can email, Tweet, Facebook or even call your House Representative and Senator and urge them to support RT as telehealth practitioners.    

This process takes just a few minutes of your time and yet will have an impact on how we as Respiratory Therapist take care of our patients.  Feel free to share the Phone to Action link with friends, family, other RT’s, patients, and other MD’s.  If you do not believe that your voice matters, last year when I went, every single Senator and Representative knew about us coming and that they had heard from patients, healthcare providers, caregivers and more importantly Respiratory Therapist how important it was to support Telehealth bills and the impact it will have to our patients and the roll and impact that Respiratory Therapist have on our patients.  We were able to get all of their support.  We need to make sure that they still have our back and the back of our patients in this proposed pilot program.

H.R. 2948 Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015

Important Information, this bill will help us in coming one step closer to medicare billable service. 

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA) Gregg Harper (R-MS), Diane Black (R-TN) and Peter Welch (D-VT) today introduced H.R. 2948, the Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015. The bipartisan legislation will expand coverage of telehealth services under Medicare by putting them on the path toward parity with in-person health care visits.

Send an email supporting this bill here

http://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases