Pennsylvania Act 2019-68 — MEDICAL PRACTICE ACT OF 1985 - PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT LICENSE

Act text

Session of 2019

No. 2019-68

SB 698

AN ACT

Amending the act of December 20, 1985 (P.L.457, No.112), entitled "An act relating to the right to practice medicine and surgery and the right to practice medically related acts; reestablishing the State Board of Medical Education and Licensure as the State Board of Medicine and providing for its composition, powers and duties; providing for the issuance of licenses and certificates and the suspension and revocation of licenses and certificates; provided penalties; and making repeals," further providing for definitions, for physician assistants and for physician assistant license.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 2 of the act of December 20, 1985 (P.L.457, No.112), known as the Medical Practice Act of 1985, is amended by adding a definition to read:

Section 2. Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

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"Primary supervising physician." A medical doctor who is registered with the board and designated in a written agreement with a physician assistant under section 13(e) as having primary responsibility for directing and personally supervising the physician assistant.

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Section 2. Sections 13(e)(2) and 36(e) of the act are amended to read:

Section 13. Physician assistants.

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(e) Written agreement.--A physician assistant shall not provide a medical service without a written agreement with one or more physicians which provides for all of the following:

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(2) Describes the manner in which the physician assistant will be assisting each named physician. The written agreement and description may be prepared and submitted by the primary supervising physician, the physician assistant or a delegate of the primary supervising physician and the physician assistant . It shall not be a defense in any administrative or civil action that the physician assistant acted outside the scope of the board-approved description or that the supervising physician utilized the physician assistant outside the scope of the board-approved description because the supervising physician or physician assistant permitted another person to represent to the board that the description had been approved by the supervising physician or physician assistant.

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Section 36. Physician assistant license.

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[(e) Description of manner of assistance.--The application shall include a written request from the applicant's supervising medical doctor who shall file with the board a description of the manner in which the physician assistant will assist the supervising medical doctor, which description shall be subject to the approval of the board.]

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Section 3. This act shall take effect in 30 days.

APPROVED--The 2nd day of July, A.D. 2019.

TOM WOLF