LP Spring 2018 - 33

SPRING 2018

Legislativve Updates

PAMED has been working with the
Hospital and Healthsystem Association of
Pennsylvania (HAP) to draft legislation to
address physician concerns with this ruling.
TEAM-BASED CARE AND SCOPE
OF PRACTICE
Last April, the Senate passed SB 25.
As of this update, SB 25 and HB 100 are
both awaiting consideration by the House
Professional Licensure Committee. Both
bills would grant independent practice
to certified registered nurse practitioners
(CRNPs). PAMED strongly opposes any
legislation that does not keep physicians as
the leader of the health care team.
A roundtable discussion was held in January, at the State Capitol and featured a panel
of physicians and CRNPs. The focus of the
discussion was to educate House Professional
Licensure Committee members about the
nature of collaborative agreements.
OPIOID ABUSE CRISIS
Though there are many pieces of
legislation regarding opioids, PAMED
is highlighting HB 353, which has the
potential to affect many members. The bill
was passed in the House and is currently
in the Senate Health and Human Services
Committee. This legislation seeks an
e-prescribing mandate for Schedule II-IV
controlled substances, unless an exception
applies. Emergency situations, temporary
technological malfunctions, lack of access
to the Internet/EHR system, and direct
administration by a practitioner are listed
as exceptions. Due to the exceptions for
physicians without EHR systems, PAMED
is neutral on this legislation.
MAINTENANCE OF
CERTIFICATION (MOC)
As a result of House of Delegates policy
established in the fall of 2017, PAMED
is drafting legislation that would prohibit

health insurers and hospitals from using
MOC as part of their credentialing criteria.
The language will also prohibit the physician licensing boards from using MOC as
a condition of licensure.

across a variety of stakeholder groups. The
Commission will then present its recommendations and findings to the American
Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and
24 Member Boards for their consideration.

In February, PAMED Past President
Charles Cutler, MD, MACP, an internal
medicine physician from Norristown, was
one of 26 members chosen from a pool of
nearly 200 applicants from 42 states for
the new Vision Initiative Commission. The
initiative, first launched in September 2017,
was created to foster a collaborative dialogue

TELEMEDICINE
Two bills - SB 780 and HB 1648 - would
establish a statutory definition for telemedicine, mandate that telemedicine services
are reimbursed, and prohibit "audio only"
Continued on page 34

For the most up-to-date information on advocacy priorities and legislative issues, please visit

www.pamedsoc.org/advocacy.
LANCASTER

PHYSICIAN

http://www.pamedsoc.org/advocacy

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LP Spring 2018