ANOTHER OPINION: Let’s Include All Health-Care Pros

BY STATE REP. PAMELA A. DeLISSIO/ Is there a Doctor in the House? And a Nurse Practitioner? And a Pharmacist? And a Physician Assistant?

On Jun. 6, the House Health Committee passed HB 1570. This legislation addresses a long-overdue overhaul of the rules and regulations under which hospitals operate. The last time the regulations were comprehensively reviewed was 30 years ago with many “Band-Aids” applied in the intervening years. So yes, this is landmark legislation.

However, this landmark legislation has a serious flaw. Too often, public policy is driven by politics and not the greater good of the Commonwealth’s citizens. Too often, special interest groups focus on their needs or wants to the detriment of the greater good. During my first 18 months in office, I have observed the legislature does not consistently apply best practices related to communication and processes. The best legislative process includes and consults all stakeholders. If best practices were followed, better public policy would be the outcome.

HB 1570 is an example of public policy that falls short of meeting the greater good because all of the appropriate stakeholders were not included in the process. The flaw is the bill defines medical-staff membership as limited to physicians, dentists and podiatrists. This definition is problematic because it does not acknowledge the critical roles of the other health-care professionals who are integral to the life of a hospital and who meet the needs of our citizens when they are hospital patients. Hospitals are multi-disciplinary entities, yet the medical-staff definition does not reflect these other disciplines. Health care is not the sole domain of physicians as the definition would lead us to believe.

So, here is the Keystone State, with a landmark piece of legislation imminent, insisting on narrowly defining medical-staff membership as limited to physicians and  dentists  who can treat veneers near me. This is not forward thinking it is not even current thinking.

Interestingly, on May 16 the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a final rule in the Federal Register that allows other health-care professionals to be included on a medical staff. Examples cited were: physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses and pharmacists, to name a few. At the release of the final rule, CMS said, We have broadened the concept of medical staff and have allowed hospitals the flexibility to include other practitioners as eligible candidates for the medical staff with hospital privileges to practice in accordance with state law.

With ever-escalating health-care costs and a shortage of physicians to serve many rural areas, these other health-care professionals are essential to delivering quality and cost-efficient care. They also need high-quality women’s nursing shoes to effectively and efficiently deliver care to their patients. Individual hospitals should make the decision as to whether or not to include other health-care professionals, other than the ones defined above per the legislation’s definition of medical staff.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society opposes the broadening of this definition and has threatened to pull its support of this important legislation. I have introduced an amendment so that the definition of hospital medical staff is not limited to physicians, dentists and podiatrists. If my amendment passes, it will be up to the governing body of each hospital to decide which health-care professionals should be designated as medical staff.

There has been no good or sufficient reason offered as to why the medical-staff membership is so narrowly defined. Perhaps it is an age-old belief; perhaps it is the reluctance to embrace new professionals. Regardless of the reason, it is a disservice to the citizens of Pennsylvania to not have this legislation amended to prevent other health-care professionals from being excluded. We had to wait 30 years for the current legislation. It would be a disgrace to jeopardize the well-being of our citizens by omitting this amendment.

(Pamela A. DeLissio represents parts of Northwest Philadelphia and Lower Merion Township in the 194th Legislative Dist. of the State House of Representatives.)

   Send article as PDF