Who Will The Georgia State House Next Authorize to Practice Medicine in Georgia?
by Bill Simon
If you haven’t been following the liberalization of the healthcare industry in Georgia, let me bring you up to date:
2005: A bill is passed by both houses and signed by the Governor that limits the amount of punitive damages to $350,000 if a doctor, a nurse practioner, an optometrist, a dentist, or a chiropractor (the actual list of protected species is much larger and you can read it all here) is found guilty of professional malpractice.
2006 – Part 1: A bill is passed by the State House authorizing optometrists the right/license to write prescriptions for treatment of the eyes.
2006 – Part 2: A bill is approved by the State House authorizing nurses the right/license to write prescriptions for anything for anyone.
Folks, what’s next? Perhaps lawyers will next be granted the right to write prescriptions? After all, according to Rep. Earl Ehrhart’s logic, a person who has gone through 4 years of college and 4 years of optometry schooling must be perfectly capable of writing prescriptions for the eye. And, if they screw-up, they can only be sued for a maximum of $350,000 for malpractice. Why not a lawyer who has gone through 7 years of schooling?
I’ll bet Ehrhart will next try to make it possible to award UGA graduates professional engineering licenses because, after all, they spent 4 years in college, just like engineering students.
Ah, it’s so nice that we have Republicans voting to liberalize the healthcare industry, all the while making sure to protect the new presecription-writers with limits on how much they can be sued for if, say, an optometrist who didn’t know about the conflict of certain drugs that someone was taking, recommended a drug that would cause complete blindness for the person.
This “everything pro-business” attitude of the Republicans is getting downright disgusting. If the Democrats have half a brain, they would seek to position themselves as being more “pro-individual” and “pro-consumer” because our protections as individuals are being quickly taken away by big-money PACs.
March 3rd, 2006 at 12:33 pm
I don’t so much mind the ability to write ‘scripts being offered to nurses, etc. but it should be limited as to what they can offer and, for God’s sake, get that silly $350k min limit up. That amount of money is nothing!
What has happened to my party? Couldn’t the liability limits be opened back up and just allow judges to impose awards? That way it provides some protection for the “consumer” whilst taking stupid juries out of the equation.
Common sense has left the party.
March 4th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Gee Bill, now you delete posts that provide factual information to counter your position…interesting way to restrict opinions.
One more try;
– Georgia is the ONLY state that prohibits Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) from writing / signing prescriptions. They can call in a prescription, just can’t put ink to paper.
For full text of legislation, click here: http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/sum/hb935.htm
Couple of fact omitted from PV post:
– APRNs have a minimum of a Masters Degree requiring much more than 4 years of college.
– APRNs can open a practice under current law. This helps provide medical care to underserved areas in the state where doctors are not readily available.
– APRNs must work in collaboration with a delegating physician.
– APRNs are Nationally Certified.
– HB935 passed with overwhelming support 146-6
Passage of this legislation is long overdue and will result in increased availability of medical care across the state. Georgia will finally join with 49 other states instead of being controlled by the powerful MAG group that has prevented qualified APRNs from signing a piece of paper.
Bart
March 5th, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Bart,
It wasn’t a matter of disagreeing with your comments but more a matter of your tone…which was pretty much out of the ballpark and unnecessarily bitter. If you don’t like the way the blog is being run, or how opinions are being posted, go start your own blog where you can personally attack whomever you wish.
However, upon reading the bill, it clarifies a lot more than what was reported in the news. So, I appreciate your posting the link, just not your original manner in which you posted it.
March 5th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
And, what about optometrists, Bart? Going to support that position as well?
March 7th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Don’t forget about a pending bill (HB 150?) that would allow anyone, regardless of academic achievement or lack thereof, to take the bar exam. If that one goes through, the educational requirements for barbers would exceed the educational requirements of attorneys.
Michael
March 8th, 2006 at 7:50 am
Whoa! I didn’t hear about that one, Michael. Another Earl Ehrhart Special?