A new bill introduced in Ohio for the 2019-2020 session would re-characterize physician assistant (PA) practice to one of collaboration with physicians. House Bill 492 (HB 492) is sponsored by representatives Scott Wiggam and Joe Miller; it has initially been assigned to the Health Committee for further consideration. You can read the text of the bill here.
HB 492 would bring minor changes to Ohio’s current PA practice laws. Currently, PAs in Ohio require a written supervision agreement with a supervising physician. This agreement sets out what procedures the PA may perform on behalf of the physician, who remains responsible for all care. HB 492 would change this to a collaborative agreement, which still details the tasks the PA performs but now keeps the PA professionally liable for the care they render. In much of the bill, this is accomplished simply by replacing the work “supervision” with “collaboration.”
However, there are some substantive changes that make this more than a simple change in terminology. The most major change the bill provides is removing the requirement that PAs receive 500 hours of onsite supervision when first exercising prescriptive authority, as well as making a PA a “qualified health professional” under the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services law. The other substantial change is the ability to perform fluoroscopic procedures following 40 hours each of clinical supervised practice and training.
The national trend has been moving towards reducing many restrictions and supervision requirements for PAs and other advanced practitioners. While HB 492 makes only modest changes in that direction, it still is in line with that trend, and, if passed, would make it easier for Ohio PAs to practice to the extent of their training.
We will be monitoring HB 492 as it works its way through Ohio’s legislative process.