An increasing number of states are granting physician assistants more autonomy to increase access to patients amid a shortage of doctors and an influx of patients with health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
In some cases, states are removing bureaucratic barriers that in the past led to redundant tasks or slowed the ability of patients to get the care they needed. In New Jersey, for example, Gov. Chris Christie in January signed into law legislation that removed the so-called “countersignature requirement,” which previously required the PAs’ collaborating physician to countersign all medical orders.
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