Articles related to SCOPE OF PRACTICE

Nurses and NPs accounted for a small share of youth mental health visits but more often treated older, socioeconomically vulnerable patients, with substantial regional differences in this national observational analysis using data through 2019.

Four pending lawsuits challenge state-mandated physician collaboration or supervision requirements for advanced practice clinicians. Plaintiffs allege these arrangements impose unconstitutional financial and professional barriers, but courts have not resolved the claims.

A 553-respondent UK survey of cardiology resident doctors found that nearly one-third reported witnessing physician assistants performing procedures outside defined scope of practice, with earlier-stage trainees reporting the most negative impact on training opportunities.

The Main Street Pharmacy Access Act (H.R. 3164/S. 2426), which would authorize Medicare reimbursement for pharmacist-provided testing and treatment of flu, strep, RSV, and COVID-19 in states that already permit those services, cleared the House Committee on Ways and Means on May 21 with more than 110 congressional co-sponsors and support from over 170 organizations.

Maine enacted LD 2088 on April 6, 2026, becoming the first state to achieve all three AAPA modernization priorities: optimal PA practice, PA Licensure Compact adoption, and the physician associate title change.

“Prior authorization began as a reasonable mechanism for controlling costs, but over the decades, I have been practicing it has ballooned into a massive administrative burden that far too often leads to care delays and unnecessary agony and harm.” – René Bravo, MD, President of the California Medical Association (CMA)