Two “dangerous” scope-of-practice bills were recently defeated in one eastern state, while the American College of Radiology has joined Puerto Rican physicians in another battle farther south.
Maryland lawmakers were proposing legislation in the state’s House and Senate to allow physician assistants to “perform X-ray duties” without a license or supervision, ACR reported Friday. However, the proposals—opposed by the Maryland Radiological Society—failed to advance in the latest legislative session, with lawmakers now adjourning for the year.
“The MRS and ACR value the commitment of physician assistants to the team-based model of care and greatly respect the contributions physician assistants make to the healthcare team. However, we do not believe their education and training prepare them to independently oversee patient care,” the two professional associations wrote in a March 14 letter to the head of the Maryland Senate Finance Committee. “The MRS and ACR are deeply concerned that [Senate Bill] 673 eliminates physician-led teams.”
Meanwhile, ACR also has teamed with the Radiological Society of Puerto Rico in another scope-of-practice battle. Lawmakers are proposing to allow general practitioners—with 10 years of uninterrupted full-time service in an emergency department—to be granted certification as radiologists or other medical specialists. The move is meant to help address a shortage of providers on the island.
Such practitioners are not subject to the same rigorous 13 years of training as members of the specialty, the Radiological Society of Puerto Rico and the college noted.
“The SOCRAD and ACR greatly appreciate the contributions and roles that general practitioners make to the entire healthcare system. However, we do not believe that their education and training prepare them to treat patients in Puerto Rico who require specific medical specialties and subspecialty procedures,” leaders of both associations wrote to local lawmakers on April 10. “Patients expect the most qualified person—physician experts with unmatched training, education and experience—to lead and oversee care.”
Earlier this month, ACR also highlighted a third scope-of-practice law change proposed in New Mexico. Senate Bill 412 would have allowed physical therapists to order MRIs to aid them in diagnosis and treatment. But the bill failed to make it past the Senate Judiciary Committee and cannot be considered in New Mexico’s current legislative cycle.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.