Appointment of County Medical Examiners - S.L. 2014-100 (S 744), Sec. 12E.6
Section 12E.6.(a) of the 2014 Appropriations Act amends G.S. 130A-382, the law that provides for the appointment of county medical examiners.
Section 12E.6.(a) of the 2014 Appropriations Act amends G.S. 130A-382, the law that provides for the appointment of county medical examiners. Under prior law, the Chief Medical Examiner (CME) appointed county medical examiners from a list of licensed physicians submitted by the county medical society of the county for which the appointment was to be made. If no names were submitted, the CME was authorized to appoint any licensed physician in the county. If no licensed physician accepted the appointment, the CME was authorized to appoint an acting medical examiner, who could be a licensed physician’s assistant, a nurse, a coroner, or an individual who had taken a training course approved by the CME. The amendments remove the county medical society from the process, do away with the category of “acting medical examiner,” and alter the categories of individuals who may be appointed county medical examiner. The rewritten law requires the CME to give preference to licensed physicians in appointing medical examiners. However, the CME is authorized to appoint a person from any of the following categories: licensed physician, licensed physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, nurse, coroner, or emergency medical technician paramedic.