AAPA - American Academy of Physician Assistants
11/05/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/05/2024 08:30
Bipartisan, bicameral study committee report speaks to the need to remove supervision requirements for PAs
Bipartisan, bicameral study committee report speaks to the need to remove supervision requirements for PAs
A new bipartisan, bicameral study committee report in New Hampshire finds that modernizing practice laws and removing supervision requirements to ensure PAs can practice to the fullest extent of their training, education, and experience is a win for patients and will improve access to high-quality healthcare.
The bipartisan report was written by a committee of five state lawmakers - Reps. Sherry Gould, Karen Calabro, Peter Schmidt, and Erica Layon, and Sen. Suzanne Prentiss.
It follows the passage of HB 1222, which eliminates the requirement that PAs have collaboration agreements with physicians. PAs with less than 8,000 hours of clinical practice and who work in a healthcare setting that does not employ a physician, would still need a written collaboration agreement. HB 1222 established a committee to research PA scope of practice.
Among the committee's findings was that patient care does not suffer when supervision requirements of PAs are removed.
"According to information obtained by the committee, there has been no decline in safety or quality of care in states where collaboration agreements between physicians and PAs have been relaxed or eliminated," the report reads.
The New Hampshire Medical Society opposed HB 1222. That opposition, however, was unfounded according to the report.
"The New Hampshire Medical Society and two physicians expressed opposition to PAs practicing without a collaboration agreement in any setting, citing patient safety concerns. However, the committee did not receive any information indicating an increase in adverse outcomes for patients receiving care from PAs practicing without collaboration agreements. In fact, the committee received a 2023 study that shows there have been no upticks in malpractice cases against PAs in states where collaboration agreements are relaxed or eliminated."
Malcolm Hauthaway, PA-C, president of the New Hampshire Society of Physician Associates (NHSPA), thanked the state legislature for their commitment to modernizing practice laws and improving access to care.
"This bipartisan, bicameral report validates what we already know - that PAs provide safe, high-quality, and affordable care as part of collaborative healthcare teams without the need for archaic legal tethers to physicians," Hauthaway said. "Moreover, the report dismisses the denigration of PAs and misinformation peddled by the New Hampshire Medical Society and their proxies. NHSPA hopes this report can aid its sister chapters in their efforts to achieve Optimal Team Practice for PAs nationwide."
The report also calls for the introduction of legislation in 2025 to officially change the name of the PA profession to physician associate and encourages insurance companies to credential PAs as primary care providers.
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