For purposes of the Medication Aide Act:

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 71-6721

  • Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Process: shall mean a summons, subpoena, or notice to appear issued out of a court in the course of judicial proceedings. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801

(1) Ability to take medications independently means the individual is physically capable of (a) the act of taking or applying a dose of a medication, (b) taking or applying the medication according to a specific prescription or recommended protocol, and (c) observing and monitoring himself or herself for desired effect, side effects, interactions, and contraindications of the medication and taking appropriate actions based upon those observations;

(2) Administration of medication includes, but is not limited to (a) providing medications for another person according to the five rights, (b) recording medication provision, and (c) observing, monitoring, reporting, and otherwise taking appropriate actions regarding desired effects, side effects, interactions, and contraindications associated with the medication;

(3) Caretaker means a parent, foster parent, family member, friend, or legal guardian who provides care for an individual;

(4) Child care facility means an entity or a person licensed under the Child Care Licensing Act;

(5) Competent individual means an adult who is the ultimate recipient of medication and who has the capability and capacity to make an informed decision about taking medications;

(6) Department means the Department of Health and Human Services;

(7) Direction and monitoring means the acceptance of responsibility for observing and taking appropriate action regarding any desired effects, side effects, interactions, and contraindications associated with the medication by a (a) competent individual for himself or herself, (b) caretaker, or (c) licensed health care professional;

(8) Facility means a health care facility or health care service as defined in section 71-413 or 71-415 or an entity or person certified by the department to provide home and community-based services;

(9) Five rights means getting the right drug to the right recipient in the right dosage by the right route at the right time;

(10) Health care professional means an individual for whom administration of medication is included in the scope of practice;

(11) Home means the residence of an individual but does not include any facility or school;

(12) Intermediate care facility for persons with developmental disabilities has the definition found in section 71-421 ;

(13) Informed decision means a decision made knowingly, based upon capacity to process information about choices and consequences, and made voluntarily;

(14) Medication means any prescription or nonprescription drug intended for treatment or prevention of disease or to affect body function in humans;

(15) Medication aide means an individual who is listed on the medication aide registry operated by the department;

(16) Nonprescription drug has the definition found in section 38-2829 ;

(17) Nursing home means any facility or a distinct part of any facility that provides care as defined in sections 71-420, 71-422, 71-424, and 71-429 ;

(18) Prescription drug has the definition of prescription drug or device as found in section 38-2841 ;

(19) Provision of medication means the component of the administration of medication that includes giving or applying a dose of a medication to an individual and includes helping an individual in giving or applying such medication to himself or herself;

(20) PRN means an administration scheme in which a medication is not routine, is taken as needed, and requires assessment for need and effectiveness;

(21) Recipient means a person who is receiving medication;

(22) Routine, with reference to medication, means the frequency of administration, amount, strength, and method are specifically fixed; and

(23) School means an entity or person meeting the requirements for a school set by Chapter 79.