The proposed bill would amend current statutes regarding the scope of practice for medical assistants in Arizona. Specifically, it would allow medical assistants to place and remove urinary catheters under the general supervision of a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse midwife, or physician assistant, following appropriate training. This addition is marked as B. A medical assistant may place and remove urinary catheters after appropriate training and under the general supervision of a physician who is licensed pursuant to this chapter or chapter 17 of this title, a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or certified nurse midwife who is licensed pursuant to chapter 15 of this title or a physician assistant who is licensed pursuant to chapter 25 of this title. Additionally, the bill clarifies the definition of "general supervision" to mean that a procedure or service is provided under the overall direction and control of a supervising practitioner without their physical presence during the procedure. This definition is introduced as G. For the purposes of this section, "general supervision" means that a procedure or service is provided under the overall direction and control of a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse midwife or physician assistant but that the presence of the physician. The bill also makes conforming changes to existing language, including the re-lettering of subsections and the removal of outdated provisions.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 32-1456
House Engrossed Version: 32-1456
Chaptered Version: 32-1456