Section 1. Section 147.74, subsection 16, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows: 16. A physician assistant registered or licensed under
chapter 148C may use the words "physician assistant" after the
person's name or signify the same by the use of the letters
"P. A." after the person's name.
Sec. 2. Section 147.80, subsection 5, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows: 5. Application for a license to practice as a physician
assistant, issuance of a license to practice as a physician
assistant issued upon the basis of an examination given or
approved by the board of physician assistant examiners,
issuance of a license to practice as a physician assistant
issued under a reciprocal agreement, renewal of a license to
practice as a physician assistant, temporary license to
practice as a physician assistant, registration of a physician
assistant, temporary registration of a physician assistant,
renewal of a registration of a physician assistant.
Sec. 3. Section 147.107, subsection 5, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows: 5. Notwithstanding subsection 1 and any other provision of
this section to the contrary, a physician may delegate the
function of prescribing drugs, controlled substances, and
medical devices to a physician assistant licensed pursuant to
chapter 148C. When delegated prescribing occurs, the
supervising physician's name shall be used, recorded, or
otherwise indicated in connection with each individual
prescription so that the individual who dispenses or
administers the prescription knows under whose delegated
authority the physician assistant is prescribing. Rules
relating to the authority of physician assistants to prescribe
drugs, controlled substances, and medical devices pursuant to
this subsection shall be adopted by the board of physician
assistant examiners, after consultation with the board of
medical examiners and the board of pharmacy examiners, as soon
as possible after July 1, 1991. The rules shall be reviewed
and approved by the physician assistant rules review group
created under subsection 7 and shall be adopted in final form
by January 1, 1993. However, the rules shall prohibit the
prescribing of schedule II controlled substances which are
listed as stimulants or depressants pursuant to chapter 124.
If rules are not reviewed and approved by the physician
assistant rules review group created under subsection 7 and
adopted in final form by January 1, 1993, a physician
assistant may prescribe drugs as a delegated act of a
supervising physician under rules adopted by the board of
physician assistant examiners and subject to the rules review
process established in section 148C.7. The board of physician
assistant examiners shall be the only board to regulate the
practice of physician assistants relating to prescribing and
supplying prescription drugs, controlled substances and
medical devices, notwithstanding section 148C.6A.
Sec. 4. Section 148.13, subsection 1, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows: 1. The board of medical examiners shall adopt rules
setting forth in detail its criteria and procedures for
determining the ineligibility of a physician to serve as a
supervising physician under chapter 148C. The rules shall be
adopted as soon as possible after the effective date of this
Act and in no event later than December 31, 1988provide that
a physician may serve as a supervising physician under chapter
148C until such time as the board determines, following normal
disciplinary procedures, that the physician is ineligible to
serve in that capacity.
Sec. 5. Section 148.13, subsection 4, Code 2003, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 4. The board of medical examiners shall adopt rules
requiring a physician serving as a supervising physician to
notify the board of the identity of a physician assistant the
physician is supervising, and of any change in the status of
the supervisory relationship.
Sec. 6. Section 148C.1, subsection 1, Code 2003, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 1. "Approved program" means a program for the education of
physician assistants which has been accredited by the American
medical association's committee on allied health education and
accreditation, by its successor, the commission on
accreditation of allied health educational programs, or by its
successor, the accreditation review commission on education
for the physician assistant, or its successor.
Sec. 7. Section 148C.1, subsection 5, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows: 5. "Physician" means a person who is currently licensed in
Iowa to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine
and surgery, or osteopathy. Notwithstanding this subsection,
a physician supervising a physician assistant practicing in a
federal facility or under federal authority shall not be
required to obtain licensure beyond licensure requirements
mandated by the federal government for supervising physicians.
Sec. 8. Section 148C.1, subsection 7, Code 2003, is amended by striking the subsection.
Sec. 9. Section 148C.3, Code 2003, is amended by striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 1. The board shall adopt rules to govern the licensure of
physician assistants. An applicant for licensure shall submit
the fee prescribed by the board and shall meet the
requirements established by the board with respect to each of
the following:
a. Academic qualifications, including evidence of
graduation from an approved program. A physician assistant
who is not a graduate of an approved program, but who passed
the national commission on certification of physician
assistants' physician assistant national certifying
examination prior to 1986, is exempt from this graduation
requirement.
b. Evidence of passing the national commission on the
certification of physician assistants' physician assistant
national certifying examination or an equivalent examination
approved by the board.
c. Hours of continuing medical education necessary to
become or remain licensed.
2. Rules shall be adopted by the board pursuant to this
chapter requiring a licensed physician assistant to be
supervised by physicians. The rules shall provide that not
more than two physician assistants shall be supervised by a
physician at one time. The rules shall also provide that a
physician assistant shall notify the board of the identity of
their supervising physician, and of any change in the status
of the supervisory relationship.
3. A licensed physician assistant shall perform only those
services for which the licensed physician assistant is
qualified by training or not prohibited by the board.
4. The board may issue a temporary license under special
circumstances and upon conditions prescribed by the board. A
temporary license shall not be valid for more than one year
and shall not be renewed more than once.
5. The board may issue an inactive license under
conditions prescribed by rules adopted by the board.
6. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to this section
after consultation with the board of medical examiners.
Sec. 10. Section 148C.4, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows:
148C.4 SERVICES PERFORMED BY PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS.
1. A physician assistant may perform medical services when
the services are rendered under the supervision of thea physician or physicians specified in the physician assistant
license approved by the board. A traineephysician assistant
student may perform medical services when the services are
rendered within the scope of an approved program. For the
purposes of this section, "medical services when the services
are rendered under the supervision of the physician or
physicians specified in the physician assistant license
approved by the board"a physician" includes making a
pronouncement of death for a patient whose death is
anticipated if the death occurs in a licensed hospital, a
licensed health care facility, a Medicare-certified home
health agency, or a Medicare-certified hospice program or
facility, with notice of the death to a physician and in
accordance with the directions of a physician.
2. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a physician assistant
licensed pursuant to this chapter or authorized to practice in
any other state or federal jurisdiction who voluntarily and
gratuitously, and other than in the ordinary course of the
physician assistant's employment or practice, responds to a
need for medical care created by an emergency or a state or
local disaster may render such care that the physician
assistant is able to provide without supervision as described
in this section or with such supervision as is available.
A physician who supervises a physician assistant providing
medical care pursuant to this subsection shall not be required
to meet the requirements of rules adopted pursuant to section
148C.3, subsection 2, relating to supervision by physicians.
A physician providing physician assistant supervision pursuant
to this subsection or a physician assistant, who voluntarily
and gratuitously, and other than in the ordinary course of the
physician assistant's employment or practice, responds to a
need for medical care created by an emergency or a state or
local disaster shall not be subject to criminal liability by
reason of having issued or executed the orders for such care,
and shall not be liable for civil damages for acts or
omissions relating to the issuance or execution of the orders
unless the acts or omissions constitute recklessness.
148C.11 PROHIBITION — CRIME.
Sec. 11. Section 148C.11, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows:
A person not
registered and licensed as required by this
chapter who practices as a physician assistant
without having
obtained the appropriate approval under this chapter, is
guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
Sec. 12. PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS — RULES. The board shall
adopt new rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer chapter
148C, after consultation with the board of medical examiners,
no later than January 1, 2004. The rules shall be designed to
encourage the utilization of physician assistants in a manner
that is consistent with the provision of quality health care
and medical services for the citizens of Iowa through better
utilization of available physicians and the development of
sound programs for the education and training of skilled
physician assistants well qualified to assist physicians in
providing health care and medical services.
Sec. 13.
Sections 148C.2, 148C.5A, 148C.6A, and 148C.7,
Code 2003, are repealed.
Sec. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of
immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.