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CMS-1403-FC
provided by AARC reflect and further clarify our intent to
provide appropriate respiratory care to patients served by
CORFs. We want to ensure that only respiratory therapists
with the highest level of education and training can
furnish respiratory therapy services in a CORF. Therefore,
only those individuals holding the credential of registered
respiratory therapist (RRT) conferred by the NBRC would
qualify. Qualifying by being “eligible to take the
registry examination,” as we proposed, results in the
unintended consequence of permitting CRTs who have not yet
taken the registry exam to meet the personnel
qualifications.
As a result of the public comments, we are finalizing
the proposed revisions that reference personnel
qualifications for HHAs at §485.70(c) and (e). We are also
finalizing our proposed revision to §485.58(a)(i)(1) that
amends the duties of CORF physicians to include medical
supervision of nonphysician staff (we received no comments
on this provision). We are adopting the revisions to the
personnel qualifications for respiratory therapists at
§485.70(j) as suggested by AARC, to read as follows:
(j) A respiratory therapist must--
(1) Be licensed by the State in which practicing, if
applicable; and
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