Full Practice Authority and Responsibility

The Joint Task Force Proposal: Optimal Team Practice

The Naval Association of Physician Assistants supports the progression of the physician assistant profession, the work accomplished by the AAPA Joint Task Force, as it relates to Full Practice Authority and Responsibility (FPAR), and the final position of the organization that will be determined at the AAPA 2017 Conference in Las Vegas, NV. NAPA's stance and position regarding FPAR does not represent the position of Defense Health Agency or the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

Per the AAPA on 5 April 2017, at https://news-center.aapa.org/FPAR/

The Report of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Future of PA Practice Authority is now available. It includes analysis of the feedback about JTF's initial proposal and the changes made to the proposal thanks to that feedback. The JTF's recommendations would make changes to AAPA's Guidelines for State Regulation of PA Practice. These guidelines, which form the basis for the AAPA Model State Legislation, recognize that a state's unique political and healthcare climate may require changes to some provisions. The final JTF resolution for "Optimal Team Practice," submitted to AAPA's House of Delegates for consideration in May, embraces the PA profession's desire to continue to work closely in teams with physicians, but removes burdensome requirements for PAs to have or report a specific relationship with a physician or group of physicians to be able to practice. It also includes a strong recommendation for an independent state PA board that is composed of a majority of PAs, and would codify PA eligibility for direct reimbursement from public and private insurers.

Survey results are in from more than 12,000 PAs, retired PAs, and PA students regarding Full Practice Authority and Responsibility (FPAR) as proposed by AAPA's Joint Task Force on the Future of PA Practice Authority. Overall, 72 percent of respondents expressed support for it.