Today the N.C. Academy of Physician Assistants (NCAPA) praised the signing of House Bill 724, entitled “Amend Composition of N.C. Medical Board.” The bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory on August 11, 2015, adds a seat designated for a Physician Assistant (PA) to the board. The previous version of the law designated a seat for either a PA or Nurse Practitioner; now both professions have designated seats.
The bill’s primary sponsors were Representatives Donny Lambeth (Forsyth), Chris Malone (Wake), Susan Martin (Wilson) and Pat Hurley (Randolph). HB 724 passed both the N.C. House and N.C. Senate without opposition.
“On behalf of Physician Assistants all across North Carolina, thank you to Representatives Lambeth, Malone, Martin and Hurley for introducing this important bill and to Governor McCrory for signing it into law,” said Marc Katz, a Catawba County PA and NCAPA’s board president for 2015.
“As the rising demand for healthcare services puts additional strain on providers, particularly in rural areas, PAs are an increasingly important part of North Carolina’s team-based healthcare system,” Katz added. “PAs have the training, skills and expertise to provide personal, quality medical care to our patients. We are grateful that our state’s leaders have taken this much-needed step to ensure that PAs have a continuous voice on the N.C. Medical Board.”
