HAPA 2022 Legislative Advocacy

HAPA is supporting the following bills for the current legislative session:

• SB2442 (pdf) - Streamlines the records review process for physician assistants by including review of physician assistants' prescriptions for controlled substances.
• SB2445 (pdf) - Expands the authorized scope of practice for physician assistants.
• HB1575 (pdf) - Expands the scope of practice for physician assistants. Requires a sampling of medical records, rather than all medical records, to be reviewed when physician assistants prescribe controlled substances.

HB1575 had an initial hearing today and SB2442 and SB2445 are scheduled for committee hearings tomorrow.

HAPA encourages you to provide written testimony as the bills move through their respective legislative committees. Due to the pandemic, submitting testimony is quite simple:

• Hawaii State Legislature website -> Click ‘Register’ to create an account
• Once logged in, search for bill numbers and click ‘Submit Testimony’
• Fill out demographic information, indicate your position (support/oppose), select testifying 'as an individual citizen', select 'written testimony only' and upload document (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .odt)

There are a few other bills HAPA is monitoring including:

• SB2152 (pdf) & HB2021 (pdf) - Revises HRS 329 to allow out-of-state providers to write for controlled prescriptions (schedule III-V) in Hawaii so long as they 1) have a valid DEA and 2) have a written contract with a medical facility doing business in Hawaii
• SB2187 (pdf) - Includes advanced practice registered nurses with prescriptive authority in the list of health care professionals authorized to administer medication to public school students. Requires administration of the medication to be approved by the Department of Health or other on-campus, school-based, health care provider pursuant to a written agreement with the Department of Education.
• SB2199 (pdf) - Protects physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and pharmacists from civil and criminal liability for prescribing or administering early treatment for the coronavirus disease 2019 in good faith to prevent hospitalization and death.

Many thanks to HAPA's Past-President and Legislative Liaison, Scott Denny, who has worked tirelessly with the major health systems, Hawaii Medical Board, sponsoring legislators, and other key stakeholders to bring these initiatives for legislative consideration. Scott continues to lead HAPA's efforts to coordinate testimony at each committee hearing and engage with other community organizations to gain supporting testimony.