Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 060 - STATE MEDICAL BOARD
Rule 060.00.05-003 - Amended Regulation No. 24 - Rules Governing Physician Assistants
Universal Citation: AR Admin Rules 060.00.05-003
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
1. A physician assistant must possess a license issued by the Arkansas State Medical Board prior to engaging in such occupation.
2. To obtain a license from the Arkansas State Medical Board, the physician assistant must do the following:
a. Answer all questions to include the
providing of all documentation requested on an application form as provided by
the Arkansas State Medical Board;
b. Pay the required fee for licensure as
delineated elsewhere in this regulation;
c. Provide proof of successful completion of
Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, as administered by the
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants;
d. Certify and provide such documentation, as
the Arkansas State Medical Board should require that the applicant is mentally
and physically able to engage safely in the role as a physician
assistant;
e. Certify that the
applicant is not under any current discipline, revocation, suspension or
probation or investigation from any other licensing board;
f. Provide letters of recommendation as to
good moral character and quality of practice history;
g. The applicant should be at least 21 years
of age;
h. Show proof of graduation
with a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university or prior
service as a military corpsman;
i.
Provide proof of graduation of a physician assistant education program
recognized by the Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation of
Allied Health Education Programs.
j. Show successful completion of the
Jurisprudence examination as administered by the Arkansas State Medical Board
covering the statutes and Rules and Regulations of the Medical Board, the
Arkansas Medical Practices Act, the Physician Assistant Act, and the laws and
rules governing the writing of prescriptions for legend drugs and scheduled
medication;
k. The submission and
approval by the Board of a protocol delineating the scope of practice that the
physician assistant will engage in, the program of evaluation and supervision
by the supervising physician;
l.
The receipt and approval by the Arkansas State Medical Board of the supervising
physician for the physician assistant on such forms as issued by the Arkansas
State Medical Board.
3. If an applicant for a license submits all of the required information, complies with all the requirements in paragraph 2, except paragraph 2 (k) and the same is reviewed and approved by the Board, then the applicant may request a Letter of Intent from the Board and the Board may issue the same. Said Letter of Intent from the Board will state that the applicant has complied with all licensure requirements of the Board except the submission of a protocol and supervising physician and that upon those being submitted and approved by the Board, it is the intent of the Board to license the applicant as a physician assistant.
4. The Protocol.
a. This protocol is to be completed and
signed by the physician assistant and his designated supervising physician.
Said protocol will be written in the form issued by the Arkansas State Medical
Board. Said protocol must be accepted and approved by the Arkansas State
Medical Board prior to licensure of the physician assistant.
b. Any change in protocol will be submitted
to the Board and approved by the Board prior to any change in the protocol
being enacted by the physician assistant.
c. The protocol form provided by the Board
and as completed by the physician assistant and the supervising physician will
include the following:
(1) area or type of
practice;
(2) location of
practice;
(3) geographic range of
supervising physician;
(4) the type
and frequency of supervision by the supervising physican;
(5) the process of evaluation by the
supervising physician;
(6) the name
of the supervising physician:
(7)
the qualifications of the supervising physician in the are or type of practice
that the physician assistant will be functioning in;
(8) the type of drug prescribing
authorization delegated to the physician assistant by the supervising
physician;
(9) the name of the
back-up supervising physicians and a description of when the back-up
supervising physician will be utilized.
5.
A. A
physician assistant must be authorized by his supervising physician to
prescribe legend drugs and scheduled medical for patients. Said authorization
must be stated in the protocol submitted by the physician assistant to the
Board and approved by the Board. A supervising physician may only authorize a
physician assistant to prescribe scheduled medication that the physician is
authorized to prescribe. A physician assistant may only be authorized to
prescribe schedule in through V medications. The physician assistant will write
prescriptions for scheduled medications by utilizing a triplicate prescription
form with the original going to the patient and the pharmacist, a copy being
placed in the chart of the patient and a second copy being sent to the Board on
a quarterly basis. The requirement of writing triplicate prescriptions and
forwarding a copy to the Board may be waived by the Board after a period of
supervised monitoring by the Board. A physician assistant may not utilize
telephone prescribing authority when prescribing scheduled medications III
through V. Prescriptions written by a physician assistant must contain the name
of the supervising physician on the prescription.
B. The physician assistant will make an entry
in the patient chart noting the name of the medication, the strength, the
dosage, the quantity prescribed, the directions, the number of refills,
together with th'e signature of the physician assistant and the printed name of
the supervising physician for every prescription written for a patient by the
physician assistant.
C. The
supervising physician shall be identified on all prescription and orders of the
patient in the patient chart if issued by the physician assistant.
6. A supervising physician should be available for immediate telephone contact with the physician assistant any time the physician assistant is rendering services to the public. A supervising physician must be able to reach the location of where the physician assistant is rendering services to the patients within one hour.
7.
A. The
supervising physician for a physician assistant must fill out a form provided
by the Board prior to him becoming a supervising physician. Said supervising
physician must provide to the Board his name, business address, licensure, his
qualifications in the field of practice in which the physician assistant will
be practicing and the name(s) of the physician assistant(s) he intends to
supervise.
B. The supervising
physician must submit to the Board a notarized letter stating that they have
read the regulations governing physician assistants and will abide by them and
that they understand that they take full responsibility for the actions of the
physician assistant while that physician assistant is under their
supervision.
C. Back-up or
alternating supervising physicians must adhere to the same statutory and
regulatory rules as the primary supervising physician.
D. The supervising physician and the back-up
supervising physician must be skilled and trained in the same scope of practice
as the tasks that have been assigned to and will be performed by the physician
assistant that they will supervise.
8.
A.
Physician assistants provide medical services to patients in a pre-approed area
of medicine. Physician assistants will have to provide medical services to the
patients consistent with the standards that a licensed physician would provide
to a patient. As such, the physician assistant must comply with the standards
of medical care of a licensed physician as stated in the Medical Practices Act,
the Rules and Regulations of the Board, and the Orders of the Arkansas State
Medical Board. A violation of said standards can result in the revocation or
suspension of the license when ordered by the Board after disciplinary charges
are brought.
B. A physician must
clearly identify himself or herself to the patient by displaying an appropriate
designation, that is a badge or name plate with the words "physician assistant"
appearing thereon.
C. A physician
assistant will not receive directly from a patient or an insurance provider of
a patient any monies for the services he or she renders the patient. Payment of
any bills of fees for labor performed by the physician assistant will be paid
to the employer of the physician assistant and not directly to the physician
assistant.
9. The supervising physician is liable for the acts of a physician assistant whom he or she is supervising if said acts of the physician assistant arise out of the powers granted the physician by the supervising physician. The supervising physician may have charges brought against him by the Arkansas State Medical Board and receive sanctions if the physician assistant should violated the standards of medical practice as set forth in the Medical Practices Act, the Rules and Regulations of the Board, and the standards of the medical community.
10. Continuing Medical Education:
a. A physician assistant who holds
an active license to practice in the State of Arkansas shall complete 20 credit
hours per year continuing medical education.
b. If a person holding an active license as a
physician assistant in this State fails to meet the foregoing requirement
because of illness, military service, medical or religious missionary activity,
residence in a foreign country, or other extenuating circumstances, the Board
upon appropriate written application may grant an extension of time to complete
the same on an individual basis.
c.
Each year, with the application for renewal of an active license as a physician
assistant in this state, the Board will include a form which requires the
person hodling the license to certify by signature, under penalty of perjury,
and disciplined by the Board, that he or she ahs met the stipulating continuing
medical education requirements. In addition, the Board may randomly require
physician assistants submitting such a certification to demonstrate, prior to
renewal of license, satisfaction of continuing medical education requirements
stated in his or her certification.
d. Continuing medical education records must
be kept by the licensee in an orderly manner. All records relative to
continuing medical education must be maintained by the licensee for at least
three years from the end of the reporting period. The records of copies of the
forms must be provided or made available to the Arkansas State Medical
Board.
e. Failure to complete
continuing education hours as required or failure to be able to produce records
reflecting that one has completed the required minimum medical education hours
shall be a violation and may result in the licensee having his license
suspended and/or revoked.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Arkansas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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