jmj11 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 See this notice below for the state of Washington. If you read the legislation, you will see that NPs can be consider pain specialist, however, PAs can not be because they are not considered medical professionals in the same league as MDs, DOs and NPs. We really need to make up our minds that if, as a profession, we want this tier to develop because it is as we sit and do nothing. If you are a state of Washington PA, you can follow the instructions for leaving your comment. URGENT CALL TO ACTION! An urgent request for all Physician Assistants in Washington State. We need your HELP! Your Washington State Academy of Physician Assistants (WAPA) has been following the Pain Management legislation from inception through near completion. In the final rule adoption phase we have found some very disturbing information and need your help in voicing our opinion that PA s can be specialists that work with a physician specialist in fields such as: Cardiology, Dermatology, Gastroenterology, Pain Management, Orthopedics, and numerous other specialty arenas. The Medical Quality Assurance Commission (MQAC) has been in work-sessions to finalize the wording of the soon to be adopted Washington Administrative Code (WAC) sections related to Pain Management for Physicians, Osteopathic physicians, PAs, ARNPs, Dentists, and Podiatrists. In the Significant Legislative Rule Analysis document that was used to formulate the final proposed language for the Pain Management WAC (WAC 246-918-800), there is Section J: Section Title: Pain management specialists. In that section it clearly states: “Physician Assistants work under the direct supervision of physicians and osteopathic physicians and may not become pain management specialists. Therefore, physician assistants are not included in the list of practitioners that may be considered a pain management specialist.” WAPA feels this language is very injurious to the PA profession! Potentially, we soon could be unable to be specialists in our current field (Cardiology, Ortho, etc.) because we work under the direct supervision of physicians and osteopathic physicians! We need a grassroots effort from PA s and your supervising physicians from throughout Washington State to make comments to the MQAC before the February 23, 2011 deadline. The final hearing, to complete the WAC, will be held on March 2, 2011 at 3 pm at the Department of Health located at 310 Israel Road S.E., Room 152/153 in Tumwater, WA. We need to have as many proponents there as possible to change this proposed law. WAPA has prepared the following information that will guide you through this process. All you need is your computer and an internet connection. WAPA thanks you for your involvement in making Washington’s PA practice laws the most efficient for Physician Assistant’s to maintain our position as an integral and important part of the health care team. Posting your comments to the MQAC 1. Log on to: https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/policyreview/ 2. Click on “Add Comment” for MQAC, Adds new sections for management of chronic non-cancer pain, Julie Kitten 3. Log in and on “Concur?: Change this to “NO, See Comments 4. Copy and paste the following (or add your personal comments): I would like the MQAC to consider my comments related to the proposed Washington Administrative Code (WAC) for chronic pain management. a) WAC 246-919-863: This section deals with pain management specialists. I feel that physician assistants should be covered in this section since they are dependent to a physician. i. The physician assistant’s abilities, and authority, are set forth in chapters 18.71A and 18.57A RCW. The physician delegate’s responsibility to the physician assistant and the physician assistant works under the direct supervision of that physician. ii. I recommend adding Physician Assistants (PA-C) as a pain management specialist if they work under the supervision of a physician who is considered a pain management specialist. Not making this change will decrease the patient’s access to pain management care. b) WAC 246-918-813: I feel this section needs clarification to coincide with the above: i. Add to (1): “Is a physician or osteopathic physician, or a physician assistant working under the direct supervision of a pain certified physician or osteopathic physician” ii. Sections starting at (2) and below – delete the balance which does not apply to physician assistants. (Physician Assistants are not currently allowed for dentists, podiatrists). Thank you for considering our comments for clarification of the proposed new laws. 5. Click SUBMIT, then on the next screen, SUBMIT COMMENT and YOU ARE NOW DONE. Exit out of the webpage, or you can review your comments before exiting. 6. WAPA Thanks you for your commitment to our profession! Thanks for taking the time to be involved in the future of our profession. Let WAPA know if you have any questions (LMK@WSMA.org) and THANK YOU again for your HELP with this urgent matter!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrarian Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Done...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Ditto............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physio Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Done...... +1........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic25 Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Done....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaepora Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Oh no! What is with this...? NPs are considered "better" everywhere?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 There was a time, more than ten years ago, that it was a no-brainer to consider PAs and NPs as almost interchangeable. Then, the nursing and NPs organizations, in their wisdom, decided to create daylight between themselves and PAs. They started producing rhetoric in their nursing programs (RN) and in the media realms that they were superior. Then, they started working on independent practice legislation in a state by state effort, and of course their DNP programs. So, they have won the fight. This is especially true in legislative circles as well as in the public's perception. Over and over you will see language in federal and state legislative acts suggesting that NPs are on a higher tier. This is what happened in Tennessee. This is what is happening now. So, what do we do? I really think our organizations need to make this a priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cervantes21 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Ok, so there are 108 comments now. I'm not in washington, but I'd hope that every single member of WAPA has voted. Wouldn't the AAPA be all over this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictoriaO Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Done......Future WAPA member right here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.