Committee reviews H 73 to let PAs and other health professionals certify emergency exams with state training requirement

The Health Care Committee on an afternoon session reviewed H 73, a bill that would change who may complete the certificate that initiates an emergency psychiatric examination and add a state training requirement for certifiers.

Legislative counsel Katie Glenn told the committee that "this first section a of your draft is being struck out instead of amended" because the draft language conflicted with Section 2 over whether a psychiatrist, physician or other health care professional performs the initial certification. She said the revised text replaces the phrase "licensed physician" in the certificate requirements with a definition that can include other "health care professional" categories and that the bill adds a new subsection requiring that "a health care professional shall successfully complete a training developed and administered by the department," meaning the Department of Mental Health.

Representative…