North Dakota passes bill allowing PA’s to practice independently with at least 4000 supervised experience hours

Summary of significant changes (from the PA network):

H.B. 1175 makes significant changes to PA practice including:

• Removing the requirement that PAs have a written agreement with a physician if they practice at licensed facilities (e.g., hospitals and nursing homes), facilities with a credentialing and privileging process (clinics), or physician-owned practices;

• Allowing PAs to own their own practice with approval of the North Dakota Board of Medicine;

  • PA practice owners with less than 4,000 hours of experience must have a collaborating physician;

• Defining PAs scope of practice as determined by their education and training;

• Removing references to physician responsibility for care provided by PAs; and

• Clarifying that PAs are responsible for the care they provide to patients.

North Dakota Legislature PDF of the bill: https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/66-2019/documents/19-0736-03000.pdf

PA Network Summary and response to bill: https://ndapa.mypanetwork.com/physician-assistant-news/582-passage-of-hb-1175