Physician Assistants, now recognized as Physician Associates (PAs) in several states, are essential members of Pennsylvania’s healthcare workforce. They practice in hospitals, physician offices, community health centers, and specialty settings, and play a critical role in expanding access to care. Their training provides strong clinical preparation and makes them valuable members of physician-led care teams.
 
During the COVID-19 emergency, many regulatory requirements were temporarily lifted, including staffing and chart review restrictions. During this period, PAs were able to practice with greater flexibility, resulting in more efficient collaboration and improved access to care with no negative impact on patient safety.
 
Despite this, Pennsylvania law still reflects outdated regulatory structures that do not align with modern, team-based care. In addition, PAs face a competitive disadvantage compared to nurse practitioners (NPs), who operate under fewer statutory restrictions in Pennsylvania. As a result, healthcare systems are often incentivized to hire NPs over PAs—not based on training or quality, but due to administrative burdens. I plan to introduce legislation to address these issues so that hiring decisions can be based on clinical need and qualifications.
 
To do this, my bill will update the Medical Practice Act to reflect current care delivery models while preserving physician involvement and patient safety safeguards. Specifically, the bill would:
 

• Recognize the title “Physician Associate” in accordance with the national trends, while preserving the continued use of “Physician Assistant.”

 

• Shift PAs to a modernized collaboration model similar to NPs, providing greater practice-level flexibility while maintaining appropriate physician involvement and patient safeguards.

 

• Clarify prescribing authority for controlled substances within the collaborative agreement framework.

 
Importantly, this legislation does not create independent practice authority. Physicians remain integral to care delivery, and collaborative agreements would remain required under this legislation.
 
A companion bill making parallel changes to the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act will be introduced separately to ensure consistency across both statutes. I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation.