Bill Text: CA AB1070 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Physician assistants: physician supervision: exceptions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 827, Statutes of 2023. [AB1070 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB1070-Amended.html
Bill Title: Physician assistants: physician supervision: exceptions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 827, Statutes of 2023. [AB1070 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB1070-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Senate
June 28, 2023 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 12, 2023 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 23, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1070
Introduced by Assembly Member Low |
February 15, 2023 |
An act to amend Section 3516 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1070, as amended, Low.
Physician assistants: physician supervision: exceptions.
Existing law, the Physician Assistant Practice Act, establishes the Physician Assistant Board within the jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California for the licensure and regulation of physician assistants. The act authorizes physician assistants to perform medical services as set forth by regulations and the act when those services are rendered pursuant to a practice agreement and under the supervision of a licensed physician and surgeon. Existing law prohibits a physician and surgeon from supervising more than 4 physician assistants at any one time.
This bill would except from that prohibition the supervision of physician assistants performing home health evaluations to gather patient information and perform annual wellness visits, advanced assessments, or health evaluations, as specified.
also authorize a physician and surgeon to supervise up to 8 physician assistants at one time if all of the physician assistants are focused solely on performing in home health evaluations to gather patient information and perform annual wellness visits or health evaluations that do not involve direct patient treatment or prescribing medication.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 3516 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:3516.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a physician assistant licensed by the board shall be eligible for employment or supervision by a physician and surgeon who is not subject to a disciplinary condition imposed by the Medical Board of California prohibiting that employment or supervision.(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) and in Section 3502.5, a physician and surgeon shall not supervise more than four physician assistants at any one time.
(2)Paragraph (1) does not apply to the supervision of a physician assistant doing any of the following when performing a home health evaluation:
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a physician and surgeon may supervise up to, but no more than, eight physician assistants at one time, but only if the following conditions are satisfied by all supervised physician assistants:
(A) The physician assistants are focused solely on performing in home health evaluations.
(B) The physician assistants are performing in home health evaluations solely for the following purposes:
(A)
(i) Gathering patient information.
(B)
(ii) Performing an annual wellness visit, advanced assessment, visit or health evaluation, including diagnostic screenings,
if it does not involve direct patient treatment or prescribing medication.
(3) A physician assistant who performs an in home health evaluation for the purposes specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) remains subject to all supervisory and scope requirements pursuant to this chapter and shall provide the supervising physician and surgeon with all information related to their evaluation under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2).
(c) The Medical Board of California may restrict a physician and surgeon to supervising specific types of physician assistants including, but not limited to, restricting a physician and surgeon from supervising physician assistants outside of the field of specialty of the
physician and surgeon.
(d) For purposes of this section:
(1) “In home health evaluation” means a comprehensive physical exam, assessment of current and prior health conditions, a complete medication review, screening tests, health education, and assessment of social determination of health needs to be used for diagnosing individual medical conditions.
(2) “Annual wellness visit” means a preventive visit with correlating current procedural terminology codes performed annually to a patient, to be used for the purposes of diagnosing patient conditions during the annual wellness visit, which may include a nonphysical examination for patients covered by Medicare Part B for more than 12 months.