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03/27/2014

HB412 - Urgent Action Needed by April 2

Ohio PAs:

It is urgent that you contact your State Representative on the House Health Committee with regard to HB412. 


House Bill 412, the Physician Assistant code update, is scheduled for a committee vote on Wednesday, April 2 in the Ohio Health, Human Services, and Aging Committee. 


After countless hours of discussion and negotiations, we have been able to get all interested parties to a position of neutrality or general support, except for the Ohio Association of Advance Practice Nurses, and the Ohio Nurses Association.  The OAAPN and ONA are opposing our bill because we refuse to capitulate to their demands limiting PAs' ability to delegate tasks and medical administration to unlicensed healthcare practitioners.  The Nurses want to limit this delegation authority to non-hospital settings only.


We need your help contacting the Health Committee members and the members of the Ohio House of Representatives to tell them to support HB 412 as it will be presented on Wednesday.  Specifically, you should covey to them:

 

  • The bill is not opposed by any physician group, the Ohio State Medical Board or the Ohio Hospital Association.
  • We have built in safeguards to make medical assistant delegation safe, included a prohibition on administering schedule or intravenous drugs.
  • Patient safety is paramount and the PA training, supervision agreements and hospital policies all serve as safeguards for patients.
  • The supervising physician and delegating PA are ultimately responsible for the safety of the patient and their ability to practice fully within the scope of their training should not be impinged upon by another healthcare practitioner group.
  • PAs have just as much expertise and more training than an RN in caring for and determining the acuity of a patient in a hospital setting and should be able to determine the best course of care for that patient in conjunction with their supervising physician.

 

Emphasize that we are dependent practitioners and we need to be able to practice within the full scope of our training. If your Representative is not available, convey the message to his or her Aide.

Please report back to OAPA on any information you think will be helpful for the pending hearing.  Also, we need as many PAs as possible to attend the hearing next Wednesday, April 2, to show their support.  We will meet at the statehouse at 9 am to attend the 9:30 hearing.  Please meet at Milo’s deli in the basement of the statehouse if you are able to make it.

Finally, contact your State Representative, regardless of whether or not they are on the Health Committee and deliver the same message so they are prepared when HB412 goes to the full House for a vote.


Find your State Representative


Members of the House Health Committee
:


Lynn Wachtmann, Chair
Anne Gonzales, Vice Chair
Nickie J. Antonio, Ranking Minority
John E. Barnes, Jr.
Heather Bishoff
Barbara Boyd
Tim W. Brown
John Patrick Carney
Robert Hagan
Brian D. Hill
Jay Hottinger
Terry A. Johnson
Matt Lynch
Ron Maag
Dale Mallory
Dan R. Ramos
Kirk Schuring
Barbara R. Sears
Ryan Smith
Robert Sprague


Please act on this right away!
  Contact the OAPA office if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Beth Adamson
OAPA
800/292-4997
oapa@ohiopa.com

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