Sponsors needed-
PA Modernization of Practice
June 13, 2019
Senator Thomas H. Killion recently announced to the legislature that he will introduce legislation that would help Physician Assistants practice with increased efficiency in Pennsylvania and is looking for co-sponsors. He stated “Physician Assistants are a critical piece of the healthcare team. Their education and training is in the medical model and provides both physicians and patients with an excellent resource for healthcare.”
He went on to say, “Pennsylvania is one of the premier states for Physician Assistant education, but lags behind legislatively for practicing Pennsylvania Physician Assistants. With this modernization, Pennsylvania will encourage a diverse range of medical professionals across the healthcare delivery system. This legislation will allow for modernization for physician assistants to practice while maintaining their role under supervising physicians.”
My legislation will do the following:
1. Place a Physician Assistant on the Medical Board and Osteopathic Board with a permanent seat;
2. Remove the requirement of a physician countersignature on 100% of patient files;
3. Allow a written agreement to be "filed" instead of "approved" by the Medical and Osteopathic Boards. This will allow Physician Assistants to immediately begin working instead of waiting 120 days or longer for the Medical Boards
4. Outline what supervision means, to ensure laws and regulations do not hinder the Physician, Physician Assistant, Patient relationship.
He announced that to accomplish the intent of the legislation, we will need to amend both the Medical Practice Act and the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act. Therefore, we will be introducing two corresponding pieces of legislation.
He has asked his fellow legislators to join him in co-sponsoring this legislation, and help to modernize and advance the practice of Physician Assistants.
The Society is asking all PAs in the state to contact their Pennsylvania State Senators asking them to join Senator Killion in co-sponsoring this important legislation entitled CSO 986. If you do have contact information for your senator, click here
You may use the above the general talking points. The legislation has not been introduced so there are no bill numbers as of yet. Once the legislation is introduced, we will then notify you of those numbers and give further instructions.
Senator Thomas H. Killion recently announced to the legislature that he will introduce legislation that would help Physician Assistants practice with increased efficiency in Pennsylvania and is looking for co-sponsors. He stated “Physician Assistants are a critical piece of the healthcare team. Their education and training is in the medical model and provides both physicians and patients with an excellent resource for healthcare.”
He went on to say, “Pennsylvania is one of the premier states for Physician Assistant education, but lags behind legislatively for practicing Pennsylvania Physician Assistants. With this modernization, Pennsylvania will encourage a diverse range of medical professionals across the healthcare delivery system. This legislation will allow for modernization for physician assistants to practice while maintaining their role under supervising physicians.”
My legislation will do the following:
1. Place a Physician Assistant on the Medical Board and Osteopathic Board with a permanent seat;
2. Remove the requirement of a physician countersignature on 100% of patient files;
3. Allow a written agreement to be "filed" instead of "approved" by the Medical and Osteopathic Boards. This will allow Physician Assistants to immediately begin working instead of waiting 120 days or longer for the Medical Boards
4. Outline what supervision means, to ensure laws and regulations do not hinder the Physician, Physician Assistant, Patient relationship.
He announced that to accomplish the intent of the legislation, we will need to amend both the Medical Practice Act and the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act. Therefore, we will be introducing two corresponding pieces of legislation.
He has asked his fellow legislators to join him in co-sponsoring this legislation, and help to modernize and advance the practice of Physician Assistants.
The Society is asking all PAs in the state to contact their Pennsylvania State Senators asking them to join Senator Killion in co-sponsoring this important legislation entitled CSO 986. If you do have contact information for your senator, click here
You may use the above the general talking points. The legislation has not been introduced so there are no bill numbers as of yet. Once the legislation is introduced, we will then notify you of those numbers and give further instructions.
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Optimal Team Practice (OTP) - The future of the PA profession
Posted 9/17/18 By Jennifer Winter, MPAS, PA-C The idea behind OTP is not to seek solo independent practice, frankly even physicians are less likely to be independent these days, but to have the decisions about how much autonomy a PA will have made at the practice level rather than the state level. The level of autonomy will vary depending on the experience and training of the PA and the type of patients being cared for...Read More. To access the AAPA's FAQs about OTP, click here. |
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Proposed 2019 Physician Fee schedule
In June of this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed 2019 Physician Fee Schedule rules. The rule proposes a number of things including an overhaul to the evaluation and management (E/M) visits which the SDPA and the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA) are opposed to due to their potential reduction in payments for E/M visits billed with a procedure.
The proposed cuts would reduce reimbursement by 50% for the least expensive component of an encounter when modifier 25 (significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management) is appropriately used. Given the visual nature of dermatology where patients often ask for multiple issues to be addressed during a single visit, this change would arbitrarily penalize PAs and Dermatologists seeking to meet the needs of their patients.
We need your help! We are asking our members to take a moment to submit a comment to CMS today to make sure our voice is heard. You can download our pre-written letter here (it will download as a word file to your device/computer), and copy and paste the contents of the letter into the CMS comment form linked below.
Submit Your Comment to CMS
Update as of 9/17/18- The time for comment has passed. We will update you again as we know more.
The proposed cuts would reduce reimbursement by 50% for the least expensive component of an encounter when modifier 25 (significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management) is appropriately used. Given the visual nature of dermatology where patients often ask for multiple issues to be addressed during a single visit, this change would arbitrarily penalize PAs and Dermatologists seeking to meet the needs of their patients.
We need your help! We are asking our members to take a moment to submit a comment to CMS today to make sure our voice is heard. You can download our pre-written letter here (it will download as a word file to your device/computer), and copy and paste the contents of the letter into the CMS comment form linked below.
Submit Your Comment to CMS
Update as of 9/17/18- The time for comment has passed. We will update you again as we know more.
Published 7/27/18
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PAs are increasingly moving to complex specialty areas
The percentage of PAs working in surgical sub-specialties has increased over 70% since 2013. Read more
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Published 5/21/18
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Rebuttal to TRIB REVIEW ARTicle by dr. ferrisRead the rebuttal letter HERE to Dr. Ferris' recent article regarding the “Study: Physician assistants less accurate in diagnosing early skin cancer” in the TRIB REVIEW published on May 20th!
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Published 4/28/18
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Dr. Matthew Zirwas' response to the JAMA Dermatology StudyDr. Matthew Zirwas submits a response to the SDPA question the methodology and conclusions from the JAMA Dermatology Study. Read th article here http://dermcast.tv/dr-matthew-zirwas-responds-to-jama-dermatology-study/
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Published 4/28/18
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SDPA and AAPA Reponse to JAMA DermatologyAAPA and SDPA respond to Dr. Ferris' article, “Accuracy of Skin Cancer Diagnosis by Physician Assistants Compared with Dermatologists in a Large Health Care System,. Read the article here http://dermcast.tv/jama-dermatology-study-fundamentally-flawed-sdpa-aapa-respond-to-april-18-article/
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Published 4/28/18
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JAMA article by dr. ferrisThe article, entitled “Accuracy of Skin Cancer Diagnosis by Physician Assistants Compared with Dermatologists in a Large Health Care System,”led by Dr. Laura Ferris is a fundamentally flawed study that depicts PAs poorly. Read the article here:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2678685?redirect=true |
Published 3/9/18
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7th Annual Pittsburgh melanoma walkPlease show your support and join "Team PDPA" for the 7th Annual Pittsburgh Melanoma Foundation 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, June 16, 2017. This year the PDPA's goal is to have a minimum of 20 participants! So please invite your friends and family to participate. All proceeds will directly benefit the Foundation and help raise awareness for Melanoma. Sign up by clicking https://runsignup.com/pdpa. If you can't make it to the race, please consider making a tax deductible donation. Thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you on race day!
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Published 2/3/18
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ACTION NEEDED! Urgent Support of Senate Bills 895 and 896The PDPA urgently needs your support of Senate Bill 895 and Senate Bill 896 which were introduced by Senator Rafferty and Senator Alloway to remove barriers to PA practice in Pennsylvania. If you haven't taken action, now is the time to do so. Please read the PDPA's letter requesting support, as well as for details regarding the Senate Bill(s) and opposing Resolutions.
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Published 7/1/17
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AMA Opposes Autonomous State PA BoardThe American Medical Association (AMA), sponsored by the American Academy of Dermatology, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association, American College of Mohs Surgery, American Society of Dermatopathology, Society for Investigative Dermatology, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and the Wisconsin Delegation, recently passed Resolution 233 opposing autonomous state PA boards. For more information, visit http://dermcast.tv/update-on-ama-policy/
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