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 or the
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs,
j. 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;
k. 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 (j) 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. Said
Letter of Intent will expire six (6) months from date of issue.
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 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 physician;
(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 area 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 physician(s) and a description of when the back-up
supervising physician(s) will be utilized.
d. A copy of the approved protocol must be
kept at the practice location of the physician assistant.
5.
A. A
physician assistant must be authorized by his supervising physician to
prescribe legend drugs and scheduled medication 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 schedule medication that the
physician is authorized to prescribe. A physician assistant may only be
authorized to prescribe schedule 3 through 5 medications, except that a
physician assistant may prescribe hydrocodone combination products reclassified
from Schedule 3 to Schedule 2 as of October 6, 2014, if authorized by the
physician assistant's supervising physician, and in accord with other
requirements of the section. 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 the 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 prescriptions and orders of the patient in the patient chart
if issued by a physician assistant.
D. Physician assistants who prescribe
controlled substances shall register with the Drug Enforcement Administration
as part of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Mid-Level Practitioner
Registry, 21 C.F.R. Part 1300, 58 FR 31171 -31175, and the Controlled
Substances Act.
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.
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 assistant 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-approved 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 assistant
must clearly identify himself or herself to the patient by displaying an
appropriate designation, that is a badge, 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 or 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 assistant
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 violate 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.
A supervising physician will notify the Arkansas State Medical
Board within 10 days after notification of a claim or filing of a lawsuit for
medical malpractice against a Physician Assistant, whom he supervises. Notice
to the Board shall be sent by registered letter to the office of the Board and
upon such forms as may be approved by the Board. If the malpractice claim is in
the form of a complaint in a filed lawsuit, a copy of the complaint shall be
furnished to the Board along with the notification required by this
Section.
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 holding the license to certify by signature, under penalty of perjury,
and disciplined by the Board, that he or she has 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 or 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.
f. A
physician assistant who is authorized to prescribe Schedule II hydrocodone
combination products reclassified from Schedule 3 to Schedule 2 as of October
6, 2014, must complete at least five (5) continuing education hours in the area
of pain management.
11.
Physician Assistants, HIV, HBV and HCV: Physicians assistants shall adhere to
Regulation 16 concerning HIV, HBV, and HCV.
History: Adopted December 7,1977; Amended October 9,
1999; Amended December 10,1999; Amended February 4, 2000; Amended April 8,
2005; Amended June 5, 2008; Amended April 12, 2012; Amended October 1,2015,
Effective December 14, 2015.
