Iowa will no longer require that a physician assistant be supervised by a physician to practice medicine.
That's according to a news release from the American Academy of Physician Associates. On May 10, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law legislation to make the change.
"Addressing healthcare provider shortages, an ongoing problem in rural areas, is one of the primary reasons driving the PA profession's efforts to modernize PA practice laws," AAPA President and Chair of the Board Jennifer Orozco, DMSc, PA-C, said in the release. "Peeling away unnecessary red tape will empower PAs and expand access to care for so many patients being left behind."
The new law, House File 424, removes the requirement that physician assistants maintain a legal relationship with a physician to practice in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register. The newspaper reported that it also stipulates physician assistants are liable for the care they give.
Additionally, the law requires that licensed physician assistants be supervised by a physician during the first two years of independent practice "if the physician assistant has not previously practiced under a supervising physician or in collaboration with the appropriate physician or other healthcare professional for a period of at least two years."
Health systems could still require physician supervision for physician assistants, according to the Des Moines Register.
The signing of the bill makes Iowa the sixth state to remove physician assistant supervision requirements, according to the AAPA. Arizona, Montana, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming have also removed this requirement.
Iowa is estimated to have more than 1,300 licensed physician assistants practicing medicine, more than half of whom practice in rural areas of the state, according to the AAPA.