STAND. COM. REP. NO. 438

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 104
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was
referred S.B. No. 104 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require licensure of
physician assistants.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the Board of Medical Examiners, State Auditor, Hawaii
Academy of Physician Assistants, and a private citizen.  Comments
were provided by the Hawaii Nurses' Association.

     This measure is a recommendation of the Auditor, as
contained in "Analysis of a Proposal to Modify the Regulation of
Physician Assistants", Report No. 98-19, November 1998.  The
current statutory terminology is "certification".  The change to
"licensure" means that physician assistants would be able to
prescribe controlled substances under chapter 329, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, which restricts the writing of prescriptions to
"licensed" practitioners who are also registered with the
Department of Public Safety's Narcotics Enforcement Division.
However, the division does not interpret "certification" to mean
"licensure", and will not register physician assistants even
though the Board of Medical Examiners administrative rules allow
supervising physicians to allow physician assistants to prescribe
medications, including controlled substances.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 438
                                   Page 2


     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose
of S.B. No. 104 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be
referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Health and Human
                                   Services,



                                   ______________________________
                                   SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

 
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