WAPA News
As of April 2013, SB 1737 and SB 5524 PASSED!
WAPA went to Olympia to testify for Senate Bill 1737 and on April 4, 2013 SB 5524 passed the legislature! On April 22, 2013 SB 1737 passed as well!
SB 1737 will allow Physician Assistants in Washington to do 3 things:
- First it will increase the number of PAs a Physician can supervise from 3 to 5
- It will also allow PAs to practice in remote site without the supervising Physician being there at least 10% of the time
- Lastly the name “Practice Plan” (which is the document PAs have to submit to MQAC and BOOMS) will be changed to “Delegation Agreement”.
SB 5524 will now allow prescriptions from PAs in other states, particularly the ones bordering our state, to be accepted by pharmacies in Washington.
"So You Want to be a Physician Assistant"
by Beth Grivett, PA-C
Click the link below if you are curious about the Physician Assistant profession. It is a great resource for anyone who wants to be a PA and answers many questions-What do PAs do? How do I become a PA? And What to expect.
physicianassistantbooks.com
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MD News Article on PAs!
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Get Involved With Your WAPA Region!
Click your region to email the Region Director and ask how to get involved.
Region 1: Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane
Region 2: Kittitas, Grant, Adams, Whitman, Garfield, Asotin, Columbia, Walla Walla, Franklin, Benton,
Yakima and Klickitat
Region 3: San Juan Island, Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish
Region 4: King, Pierce, Thurston
Region 5: Lewis, Pacific, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Clark, Skamania
Region 6: Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason, Grays Harbor
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Get Involved on the State and National Scene!
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WAPA's Mission
To ensure the professional growth and recognition of PAs in the healthcare team and promote excellence of patient centered care in Washington State. |
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The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) has announced a new PA certification maintenance process reflecting similar criteria passed in 2000 by the 24 members of the American Board of Medical Specialties. The current process requires 100 CME credits every two years (50 credits of Category 1 and 50 credits of Category 2) and a recertification exam every six years. Click here for more details. (May 15, 2013) |
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Job Posting With WAPA
To have your job announcement posted on the WAPA Job Bulletin send an email to WAPA. We require: 1000 characters or less, a brief job description, a contact person, a way for the PA to send you their CV with cover letter (do you prefer email, fax, hard copy) We charge a $50.00 fee per job to run for 90 days. If you have multiple jobs to post, email Linda at: LMK@wsma.org for a special rate. Our openings are viewed by PAs in WA and those hoping to re-locate to WA.
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VOLUNTEER
PA-Cs, NPs, and MDs needed to help staff free health clinic, Edmonds, WA. Volunteer medical providers are needed to help staff a mobile medical unit operating on Tuesday mornings in Edmonds, WA. The mobile clinic operates under a 501(c)3 charitable organization – the Puget Sound Christian Clinic. The Edmonds clinic provides free, basic health care, and serves a diverse population of low-income, uninsured individuals and families in the surrounding community. Currently seeking experienced family practice PAs, NPs, and MDs who would be able to volunteer one 4-hour shift per month on Tuesday mornings 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. Scope of patient care is general, non-urgent, with scheduled, 30-minute appointments per patient. If interested in being part of this vital community health service, please contact:
Lynn Heitritter, RN (ret.), PhD Site Coordinator,
Edmonds Mobile Medical Clinic rheitritter@msn.com |
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 Support HR 1790
Electronic Health Record Incentives for PAs - All PAs are urged to contact Representatives in support of HR 1790, the Health IT Modernization for Underserved Communities Act, a bill to amend the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to extend the electronic health record (EHR) Medicaid incentive payment to all physician assistants whose patient volume includes at least 30% Medicaid recipients.
The inability of PAs to take part in this incentive program limits patient access to EHR systems. It also creates disincentives for and places artificial limitations on the hiring and placement of PAs in underserved areas, potentially compromising patient access to care provided by PAs.
Please contact your legislators and tell them extend to PAs the ability to participate in the EHR Medicaid incentive payment. Ask them to cosponsor and support passage of HR 1790 this year.
Background
As introduced, HITECH offered EHR incentives to physicians, dentists, and advanced practice nurses with a patient volume of at least 30% Medicaid recipients. PAs were not included in the list of eligible health professionals. (An incorrect assumption was made that an incentive payment to physician assistants would be covered under the payment to physicians.) The provision was partially fixed by extending the EHR incentive payment to PAs practicing in a rural health clinic (RHC) or federally qualified health center (FQHC) led by a PA. The partial fix is not sufficient to meet the needs of medical practices and clinics in which PAs provide a high volume of care to Medicaid beneficiaries.
Enhanced, quality patient care is the ultimate beneficiary of the use of electronic health records. The current limitation on Medicaid EHR limits the development of EHR systems for Medicaid beneficiaries who are served by PAs. PAs are often the sole health care provider in rural, border, and other medically underserved communities. In such places, many practices which serve these vulnerable and at-risk populations and communities are excluded from the EHR incentive, because it is not made available to PAs even though they meet the required Medicaid patient threshold.
Medical practices and clinics that employ a large number of PAs are penalized through the Medicaid EHR incentive limitation. Additionally, an incentive program that fully recognizes physicians and advance practice nurses, but excludes PAs, creates a financial disincentive for medical practices to hire PAs, further limiting the number of PAs placed in underserved communities.
Please contact your legislators today and urge them to take action on HR 1790 this year.
Thank you for your advocacy in action!
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