2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 26 - Professions and Occupations › Chapter 31 - Physician Assistants › § 1735a. Practice agreement and scope of practice

§ 1735a. Practice agreement and scope of practice
(a) Except as provided in subsection 1734c(b) of this chapter and subsection (e) of this section, a physician assistant shall engage in practice as a physician assistant in this State only if the physician assistant has entered into a written practice agreement as set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
(1) A physician assistant shall enter into a practice agreement with a physician who practices as a sole practitioner only if the participating physician’s area of specialty is similar to or related to the physician assistant’s area of specialty.
(2) A physician assistant shall enter into a practice agreement with a participating physician who represents a physician group or health care facility only if one or more of the physicians practicing in the physician group or at the health care facility has an area of specialty similar to or related to the physician assistant’s area of specialty.
(b) A practice agreement shall include all of the following:
(1) Processes for physician communication, availability, decision making, and periodic joint evaluation of services delivered when providing medical care to a patient.
(2) An agreement that the physician assistant’s scope of practice shall be limited to medical care that is within the physician assistant’s education, training, and experience. Specific restrictions, if any, on the physician assistant’s practice shall be listed.
(3) A plan to have a physician available for consultation at all times when the physician assistant is practicing medicine.
(4) The signatures of the physician assistant and the participating physician; no other signatures shall be required.
(c) A practice agreement may specify the extent of the collaboration required between the PA and physicians and other health care professionals; provided, however, that a physician shall be accessible for consultation by telephone or electronic means at all times when a PA is practicing.
(d) The practice agreement shall be reviewed by the physician assistant and either the participating physician or a representative of the practice, physician group, or health care facility, at a minimum, at the time of the physician assistant’s license renewal.
(e) In the event of the unanticipated unavailability of a participating physician practicing as a sole practitioner due to serious illness or death, a physician assistant may continue to practice for not more than a 30-day period without entering into a new practice agreement with another participating physician.
(f) The practice agreement shall be filed with the Board. The Board shall not request or require any modifications to the practice agreement. The practice agreement may be filed with the Board electronically at the option of the physician assistant; no original documents shall be required.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the physical presence of a physician at the time and place at which a physician assistant renders a medical service.
(h) A physician assistant may prescribe, dispense, administer, and procure drugs and medical devices to the same extent as may a physician. A physician assistant who prescribes controlled substances shall be registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. (Added 2011, No. 61, § 4, eff. June 2, 2011; 2019, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)