HOUSE BILL REPORT

EHB 1629

BYRepresentatives Schoon, Braddock, Brooks, Moyer, Kremen, D. Sommers, Sprenkle, May and Miller

Changing the definition of physician's assistant.

House Committe on Health Care

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (7)

      Signed by Representatives Braddock, Chair; Day, Vice Chair; Brooks, Cantwell, Lewis, Lux and D. Sommers.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (3)

      Signed by Representatives Bristow, Bumgarner and Vekich.

House Staff:John Welsh (786-7133)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 11, 1988

BACKGROUND:

A physician assistant is a registered health care practitioner who assists the sponsoring physician in the practice of medicine under the supervision and control of the physician.

An applicant for licensure may be a graduate of a foreign medical school or college.

SUMMARY:

A graduate of a foreign medical school may not qualify as an applicant for registration as a physician assistant, after the effective date of this act.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):  Foreign medical graduates shall not be eligible for registration as physician assistants after July 1, 1989, but those applying before that date may be foreign medical graduates if they have not committed unprofessional conduct or violated rules of the Medical Examining Board.  The Board shall adopt rules for registration including the approval of training and requiring receipt of transcripts from the medical school.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Representative Dick Schoon, sponsor; Shinobu Inoue, Washington Academy of Physicians Assistants; Vince Tenorio, Washington Academy of Physicians Assistants; Emanuel Mkrtichian, Board of Medical Examiners; Gloria Westerfield, Department of Licensing and Board of Medical Examiners; Ruth Balugg, Washington Academy of Physicians Assistants; Victor Picou, Washington Academy of Physicians Assistants.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Hector Gonzalez, Commission on Hispanic Affairs; Lois Hayasaka, Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

House Committee - Testimony For:    Graduates of foreign medical schools are often not qualified to practice medicine as physician's assistants.  It is difficult to verify the credentials of foreign medical schools, particularly in third world countries, as the Medical Examining Board has no accreditation system for them.  There is no way of validating the quality of education given by foreign medical schools.  There is no examination to qualify physician's assistants as practitioners, so the quality of the school becomes an important factor in permitting them to practice.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      By not permitting applicants who are graduates of foreign medical schools to become physician's assistants, a mainstream health profession is being denied to minorities.  In addition, many foreign medical schools are highly respected, especially in Canada and Europe, and graduates from their schools would be denied the ability to practice their skills here.  There is no grandfather clause for existing physician's assistants who are foreign medical graduates, and these people would lose their jobs (about 26 percent of the pool) with annual re-registration.  Physician's assistants trained as physicians abroad are highly skilled and have rendered valuable services here.  The sponsoring physician, under whom they work, is legally responsible for their practice in any extent.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      Yeas 96; Nays 1; Excused 1

Voting Nay: Representative Wang

Excused:    Representative Allen