AED Legal Analysis for Tennessee
Summary
AED acquirers must ensure that expected users receive CPR/AED training.
The acquirer must maintain, test, and operate the AED according to the manufacturer's guidelines and maintain written records of all maintenance and testing performed on the AED.
AED program medical oversight services must be provided by an in-state licensed physician. In-state medical director residency is not required.
The AED acquirer must establish a written AED program to include AED placement, authorized users, EMS coordination, AED maintenance and testing records that will be kept by the program and reports of AED use, and must also notify EMS of the location of the AED.
The placement of the AED must be supervised and endorsed by a licensed physician.
Good Samaritan protection is extended, except in cases of gross negligence, to rescuers, AED trainers, and AED acquirers if conditions of acquisition and compliance are met.
The state board of education may provide for a program of instruction in CPR/AED to be taken once in junior or senior high schools.
All public schools are required to have at least one AED placed within the school. All requirements of having AEDs must be followed or may lose Good Samaritan protection: maintenance, training, medical direction, placement, EMS activation, post-event reporting, program documentation.
Optometrists who use local anesthetics are required to have an AED in the office.
Dental offices using conscious or deep sedation or general anesthesia must have a defibrillator on the premises.
The acquirer must maintain, test, and operate the AED according to the manufacturer's guidelines and maintain written records of all maintenance and testing performed on the AED.
AED program medical oversight services must be provided by an in-state licensed physician. In-state medical director residency is not required.
The AED acquirer must establish a written AED program to include AED placement, authorized users, EMS coordination, AED maintenance and testing records that will be kept by the program and reports of AED use, and must also notify EMS of the location of the AED.
The placement of the AED must be supervised and endorsed by a licensed physician.
Good Samaritan protection is extended, except in cases of gross negligence, to rescuers, AED trainers, and AED acquirers if conditions of acquisition and compliance are met.
The state board of education may provide for a program of instruction in CPR/AED to be taken once in junior or senior high schools.
All public schools are required to have at least one AED placed within the school. All requirements of having AEDs must be followed or may lose Good Samaritan protection: maintenance, training, medical direction, placement, EMS activation, post-event reporting, program documentation.
Optometrists who use local anesthetics are required to have an AED in the office.
Dental offices using conscious or deep sedation or general anesthesia must have a defibrillator on the premises.
Related Laws
| Statute | Law Type | Effective Date | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-6-218. | Good Samaritan | 2019-04-19 | (a) This section shall be known and cited as the “Good Samaritan Law.” (b) Any person, including those licensed to practice medicine and surgery and including any person licensed or certified to render service ancillary thereto, or any member of a volunteer first aid, rescue or emergency squad that provides emergency public first aid and rescue services, who in good faith: (1) Renders emergency care at the scene of an accident, medical emergency and/or disaster, while en route from such scene to a medical facility and while assisting medical personnel at the receiving medical facility, including use of an automated external defibrillator, to the victim or victims thereof without making any direct charge for the emergency care; or (2) Participates or assists in rendering emergency care, including use of an automated external defibrillator, to persons attending or participating in performances, exhibitions, banquets, sporting events, religious or other gatherings open to the general public, with or without an admission charge, whether or not such emergency care is made available as a service, planned in advance by the promoter of the event and/or any other person or association, shall not be liable to such victims or persons receiving emergency care for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission by such person in rendering the emergency care, or as a result of any act or failure to act to provide or arrange for further medical treatment or care for the injured person, except such damages as may result from the gross negligence of the person rendering such emergency care. (c) A receiving medical facility shall not be liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission on the part of any member of a volunteer first aid, rescue or emergency squad that provides emergency public first aid and rescue services while such person is assisting medical personnel at the receiving medical facility. (d) The members of such ………………….. If: (1) A volunteer fire squad is organized by a private company for the protection of the plant and grounds of such company; (2) Such squad is willing to respond and does respond to calls to provide fire protection for residents living within a six (6) mile radius of the county surrounding such plant; and (3) The plant is located in a county that does not otherwise provide fire protection to such residents; |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-122 | Placement of AEDs in Schools | 2018-07-01 | Per SB115: All public schools must have at least one (1) automated external defibrillator (AED) device placed within the school. All requirements of having AEDs must be followed or may lose Good Samaritan protection: maintenance, training, medical direction, placement, EMS activation, post-event reporting, program documentation. |
| House Bill 521 | Other Requirements | 2018-05-24 | All public high schools are required to have AEDs. Public middle, elementary, and private schools are not required but are encouraged to have AEDs. All requirements of having AEDs must be followed or may lose Good Samaritan protection: maintenance, training, medical direction, placement, EMS activation, post-event reporting, program documentation. |
| Tenn Code 49-6-1208 | Training | 2018-02-19 | (a) The state board of education may provide for a program of instruction on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques commensurate with the learning expectations within the lifetime wellness curriculum for public junior or senior high schools. All students should participate in this introduction at least once during their attendance in junior or senior high school. (b) It is not the intention of this section to require full certification in CPR. It is the intention of the section that students will learn the techniques and practice the psychomotor skills associated with performing CPR. For the purposes of this section, "psychomotor skills" means the use of hands-on practice and skills testing to support cognitive learning and shall not include cognitive-only training. (c) The program of instruction on CPR must include instruction on the use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED) and the location of each AED in the school. The school shall conduct a CPR and AED drill so that the students are aware of the steps that must be taken if an event should occur that requires the use of an AED. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2019, the public welfare requiring it. |
| Tenn Rules & Regs - 0460-02.07 | Other Requirements | 2018-02-16 | (6)(b) General rules for conscious sedation. 6. Emergency management. (iii) A cardiac defibrillator or automated external defibrillator must be available. (7)(b) General rules for deep sedation/general anesthesia. 6. Emergency management. (iv) A cardiac defibrillator or automated external defibrillator must be available. |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-140-403. | Training; Registration | 2017-02-15 | A person or entity that acquires an AED shall ensure that expected defibrillator users receive American Heart Association CPR and AED or an equivalent nationally recognized course in defibrillator use and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Any person or entity that acquires an AED shall, within a reasonable time after the placement of an AED, register the existence and location of the defibrillator with the emergency communications district or the ambulance dispatch center of the primary provider of emergency medical services where the AED is to be located. |
| Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-12-01-.19 | Registration; Physician Requirement | 2017-02-15 | Each entity shall submit a written notice to the local primary emergency medical services provider or emergency communications district that provides information regarding the location of the AED, a contact person for the entity, and the name and contact information of the overseeing physician. Each entity shall maintain and submit a copy of a written AED plan to the local primary emergency medical services provider or emergency communications district. Each placement of an AED shall be supervised and endorsed by a physician with an unrestricted license to practice medicine or osteopathy in Tennessee. |
| Tenn. Code. Ann. § 63-8-102 | Mandate | 2017-02-15 | An optometrist who uses a local anesthetic shall maintain in the optometrist's office an AED at all times that a local anesthetic is administered by the optometrist. |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-140-404. | Training; Registration | For an entity to use or allow the use of an AED, the entity shall ensure that before using the AED, expected users receive appropriate training approved by the department in CPR and the proper use of an AED and provide to the emergency communications district or the primary provider of emergency medical services where the defibrillator is located. | |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-140-407. | Good Samaritan | An individual providing training to others in an approved program on the use of an AED shall be held harmless by the employer of the trainer for damages caused by training that was negligent. | |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-140-408. | Training | An expected AED users shall complete training and demonstrate competence in CPR and the use of an AED through a course of instruction approved by the Tennessee emergency medical services board. | |
| Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-140-406. | Good Samaritan | The entity responsible for the AED program shall not be liable for any civil liability for any personal injury that results from an act or omission that does not amount to willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence. |
We make every attempt to ensure the accuracy of our research regarding automated external defibrillator (AED) unit laws in each state across the country, however, with laws varying from state-to-state and even on a local basis, as you might imagine, staying abreast of constant changes is a very challenging process. As such, it's important to note that our findings should be used for informational purposes only and that any specific AED laws or AED requirements for your AED program should be developed between you and your legal counsel. If you have any suggestions, information, or tips on new or pending AED unit legislation that you feel might help improve our AED requirement pages, please contact us to let us know! By spreading knowledge about how to build and manage legally compliant AED programs, we hope to improve survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest.