Copyright

(c) 2010-2024 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.
Showing posts with label Physician assistant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Physician assistant. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Questions About Who Should Perform In-Office Surgeries

Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from www.kaiserhealthnews.org

One of the hopes embedded in the health law was to expand the role of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in addressing the nation’s shortage of primary care providers. But a new study questions whether that’s actually happening in doctors’ offices.
Of the more than 4 million procedures office-based nurse practitioners and physician assistants independently billed more than 5,000 times in a year to Medicare – a list including radiological exams, setting casts and injecting anesthetic agents – more than half were for  dermatological surgeries.

That’s not surprising, according to Ken Miller, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, because when patients are older, skin problems such as “boils, skin tags and warts” are pretty  typical.
“I think that’s where you’re going to see the majority of procedures that are occurring both in primary care and in some of the other specialties like geriatric clinics,” he said.
The Aug. 11 study, published in the JAMA Dermatology analyzing 2012 Medicare claims, is suggesting that nurse practitioners and physician assistants should face higher regulation if performing surgical procedures.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Brett Coldiron, a dermatologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, said while the “intent for...

Friday, December 27, 2013

Thursday, January 19, 2012

NJ Supreme Court Rules That Only a Physician Can Perform An EMG

Only a licensed physician, and not a physicians assistant, can perform an EMG, ruled the NJ Supreme Court.

Click here to read the complete decision: Selective Insurance Company of American v Arthur C Rothman MD
".... the Legislature intended that only certain licensed physicians, specifically those persons "licensed to practice medicine and surgery pursuant to chapter 9 of Title 45[,]" would be permitted to perform needle EMG tests. As we have explained, physician assistants are not "licensed to practice medicine and surgery" because they do not have the qualifications for such a license."