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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/25/2024 09:27 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20190&cosponId=29775
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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: June 7, 2019 01:49 PM
From: Senator Thomas H. Killion
To: All Senate members
Subject: Physician Assistant Modernization of Practice
 
In the near future, I will introduce legislation that would help Physician Assistants work and practice with increased efficiency in Pennsylvania. Physician Assistants are a critical piece of the healthcare team. Their education and training is in the medical model and provides both physicians and patients with an excellent resource for healthcare.

Pennsylvania is one of the premier states for Physician Assistant education, but lags behind legislatively for practicing Pennsylvania Physician Assistants. With this modernization, Pennsylvania will encourage a diverse range of medical professionals across the healthcare delivery system. This legislation will allow for modernization for physician assistants to practice while maintaining their role under supervising physicians.

My legislation will do the following:
  1. Place a Physician Assistant on the Medical Board and Osteopathic Board with a permanent seat;
  2. Remove the requirement of a physician countersignature on 100% of patient files;
  3. Allow a written agreement to be "filed" instead of "approved" by the Medical and Osteopathic Boards. This will allow Physician Assistants to immediately begin working instead of waiting 120 days or longer for the Medical Boards; and
  4. Outline what supervision means, to ensure laws and regulations do not hinder the Physician, Physician Assistant, Patient relationship.

To accomplish the intent of the legislation we will need to amend both the Medical Practice Act and the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act. Therefore, we will be introducing two corresponding pieces of
legislation.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation, and help to modernize and advance the practice of Physician Assistants.


Introduced as SB870