Section 43-11-21.1. General anesthesia

   (a) No dentist shall administer general anesthesia on an outpatient basis unless such dentist has been issued a permit by the board under the conditions specified in this Code section. Such permit shall be subject to biennial renewal at the time the dentist is required to renew his or her license to practice dentistry. It shall be the responsibility of the dentist to provide such information as the board may require and to pay the separate initial issuance and renewal fees for the permit as may be established by the board.

(b) No dentist shall be issued a permit under this Code section nor have such permit renewed unless the board has received satisfactory evidence that such dentist:

   (1) (A) Has successfully completed a minimum of one year of advanced training in anesthesiology and related academic subjects beyond the undergraduate dental school level at an institution accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association or its successor agency or by a nationally recognized health care accreditation body for hospitals; or

      (B) Is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, is a member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, or is a fellow of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology;

   (2) Utilizes a properly equipped facility for the administration of general anesthesia, including physical plant and equipment which has been evaluated and certified by an on-site examination; and

   (3) Has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the board or any designee thereof proficiency in administering general anesthesia on a patient or patients in the dentist's office in a safe and effective manner.

(c) In enforcing the provisions of this Code section, the board is authorized to designate qualified persons to perform the on-site examination and is further authorized to provide by rule or regulation for standards for physical plant, equipment, and personnel to be utilized in the administration of general anesthesia.

(d) (1) This Code section shall not prohibit a person who is duly licensed to practice medicine in this state and who is a member of the anesthesiology staff of an institution classified as a hospital and issued a permit as an institution under Code Section 31-7-1 from administering general anesthesia in a dental facility, except that such anesthesiologist shall remain on the premises of the dental facility until any patient given a general anesthetic by such anesthesiologist is stabilized and has regained consciousness.

   (2) This Code section shall not prohibit a person who is duly licensed as a certified registered nurse anesthetist in this state from administering general anesthesia in a dental facility, provided that such anesthesia is administered under the direction and responsibility of a dentist duly permitted under this Code section and that such nurse anesthetist shall remain on the premises of the dental facility until any patient given a general anesthetic by such nurse anesthetist is stabilized and has regained consciousness.

(e) The board or its authorized designee may, upon reasonable notice, conduct an on-site inspection of the facility, equipment, and personnel of a dentist issued a permit under this Code section to determine if the standards of paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section are being maintained.

(f) The board may, upon proper application, grant a provisional permit to any dentist who meets the requirements of subparagraph (b)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(B) of this Code section, but such permit shall expire six months after its issuance or upon the board's determination by site visit that the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (b) of this Code section have not been met, whichever occurs earlier. The provisional permit may be renewed once, at the discretion of the board, for a period not to exceed six months following the original expiration date.

(g) A permit issued under this Code section may be revoked or not renewed if the board determines that the dentist holding such permit no longer meets any requirement of subsection (b) of this Code section. The board shall provide notice and opportunity for hearing under Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act," in any case in which it revokes or refuses to renew a permit, provided that summary action regarding such permit shall be authorized under Code Section 50-13-18.

Code 1981, § 43-11-21.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1987, p. 932, § 3; Ga. L. 1999, p. 234, § 12; Ga. L. 2012, p. 337, § 9/SB 361; Ga. L. 2013, p. 141, § 43/HB 79.