|
|
Physician Assistants and Medical Response to Disasters and Emergencies: Amending State Laws
Physician assistants, like other health professionals, are anxious and willing to provide medical care in an emergency or disaster situation. But many state laws do not contain the language that would allow this to happen. In these states, PAs may violate state laws on licensing or supervision if they assist in emergency or disaster relief efforts outside of their licensing jurisdictions or without their customary supervision arrangements. While several states have adopted language similar to AAPA's model law on disasters and emergencies to address these concerns, many have not. To allow for the most effective response to such situations, every state, should authorize its PAs to respond to disasters and emergencies.
The laws governing PA practice reflect two key principles: supervision by licensed physicians and physician delegation. The profession endorses these concepts. However, state law exemptions to these requirements are necessary to allow PAs to respond to exceptional circumstances created by disasters or emergencies.
Physician assistants are trained at accredited programs associated with medical schools and teaching hospitals. PA education is a foreshortened version of the medical school curriculum, with a focus on primary care. Although physician assistants may work in subspecialty fields with physician specialists as their supervisors, all PAs have a generalist core of medical knowledge. This allows them to be extremely useful in responding to medical needs created by unanticipated events that cause injury or illness.
State laws should allow PAs to provide emergency response to illness, injury, or disaster when and where it occurs. Four specific provisions are needed to address situations that occur outside the PA's place of employment.
- PAs should be permitted to respond to disasters and unusual emergencies with supervision by physicians who are also volunteering in these efforts. If there are no physicians present, PAs should be allowed to provide medical care.
- Supervision requirements should permit physicians to supervise PAs without filing for approval from the state licensing authority when they are working with a PA in emergency field response.
- Good Samaritan immunity should be granted to PAs and any physicians who supervise them when they are helping victims of accidents and disasters outside of established medical settings.
- Federally-employed PAs, and PAs who are licensed in other states, should be permitted to respond to a need for medical care in disasters and emergencies.
The AAPA has drafted model language that can be used to amend state laws:
Participation in Disaster and Emergency Care
A physician assistant licensed in this state or licensed or authorized to practice in any other U.S. jurisdiction or who is credentialed as a physician assistant by a federal employer who is responding to a need for medical care created by an emergency or a state or local disaster (not to be defined as an emergency situation which occurs in the place of one's employment) may render such care that they are able to provide without supervision as it is defined in this section of law, or with such supervision as is available.
Any physician who supervises a physician assistant providing medical care in response to such an emergency or state or local disaster shall not be required to meet the requirements set forth in this section of law for a supervising physician.
No physician assistant licensed in this state or licensed or authorized to practice in other states of the United States who voluntarily and gratuitously, and other than in the ordinary course of employment or practice, renders emergency medical assistance shall be liable for civil damages for any personal injuries which result from acts or omissions by those persons in rendering emergency care which may constitute ordinary negligence. The immunity granted by this section shall not apply to acts or omissions constituting gross, willful, or wanton negligence or when the medical assistance is rendered at any hospital, physician's office, or other health care delivery entity where those services are normally rendered. No physician who supervises a physician assistant voluntarily and gratuitously providing emergency care as described in this subsection shall be liable for civil damages for any personal injuries which result from acts or omissions by the physician assistant rendering emergency care.
Issue Brief: PAs and Medical Response to Disasters and Emergencies
3/06
Last Revised: 3/28/06
