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Committee approves bill letting physician assistants delegate specified clinical tasks to supervised staff
Summary
Senate Bill 99, supported by physician assistant groups and UAMS, allows physician assistants to delegate certain clinical tasks to qualified supervised staff and passed the committee without recorded opposition.
The House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 99, which allows physician assistants (PAs) to delegate specified clinical tasks to qualified, supervised staff members as authorized by the supervising physician or supervising PA.
State Representative Zach Gramlich, appearing to introduce the measure, and Aaron Woodall, a family-practice PA from North Little Rock and president of the Arkansas Academy of PAs, described PA education and supervision standards to underline the profession's qualifications. “Education that results in a master's degree that includes over 2000 hours of clinical education through rotations,” Woodall said, summarizing PA clinical training.
Edward Williams, program director and chair of the UAMS physician assistant program, also testified in support, saying expanded delegation could improve clinic workflow and make PAs more hireable in Arkansas. “This type of bill being passed for PAs will help to make PAs more hireable and more desirable in the health care community and make a big difference,” Williams said.
Witnesses said the measure aligns Arkansas practice with national norms; one committee member noted that 48 states allow similar delegation. The bill drew no recorded opposition in the transcript, and the chair announced passage: “Ayes have it. Congratulations. Your bill has passed.”
The measure clarifies that specified tasks may be performed by delegated, supervised clinical staff when ordered by a PA or physician; the transcript records representatives and medical-education witnesses describing training hours and supervision but does not list a roll-call vote.
