(a) In addition to the services authorized in the regulations adopted by the Medical Board of California, and except as prohibited by Section 3502, while under the supervision of a licensed physician and surgeon or physicians and surgeons authorized by law to supervise a physician assistant, a physician assistant may administer or provide medication to a patient, or transmit orally, or in writing on a patient’s record or in a drug order, an order to a person who may lawfully furnish the medication or medical device pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d).
(1) A supervising physician and surgeon who delegates authority to issue a drug order to a physician assistant may limit this authority by specifying the manner in which the physician assistant may issue delegated prescriptions.
(2) Each supervising physician and surgeon who delegates the authority to issue a drug order to a physician assistant shall first prepare and adopt, or adopt, a written, practice specific, formulary and protocols that specify all criteria for the use of a particular drug or device, and any contraindications for the selection. Protocols for Schedule II controlled substances shall address the diagnosis of illness, injury, or condition for which the Schedule II controlled substance is being administered, provided, or issued. The drugs listed in the protocols shall constitute the formulary and shall include only drugs that are appropriate for use in the type of practice engaged in by the supervising physician and surgeon. When issuing a drug order, the physician assistant is acting on behalf of and as an agent for a supervising physician and surgeon.
(b) “Drug order,” for purposes of this section, means an order for medication that is dispensed to or for a patient, issued and signed by a physician assistant acting as an individual practitioner within the meaning of Section 1306.02 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, (1) a drug order issued pursuant to this section shall be treated in the same manner as a prescription or order of the supervising physician, (2) all references to “prescription” in this code and the Health and Safety Code shall include drug orders issued by physician assistants pursuant to authority granted by their supervising physicians and surgeons, and (3) the signature of a physician assistant on a drug order shall be deemed to be the signature of a prescriber for purposes of this code and the Health and Safety Code.
(c) A drug order for any patient cared for by the physician assistant that is issued by the physician assistant shall either be based on the protocols described in subdivision (a) or shall be approved by the supervising physician and surgeon before it is filled or carried out.
(1) A physician assistant shall not administer or provide a drug or issue a drug order for a drug other than for a drug listed in the formulary without advance approval from a supervising physician and surgeon for the particular patient. At the direction and under the supervision of a physician and surgeon, a physician assistant may hand to a patient of the supervising physician and surgeon a properly labeled prescription drug prepackaged by a physician and surgeon, manufacturer as defined in the Pharmacy Law, or a pharmacist.
(2) A physician assistant shall not administer, provide, or issue a drug order to a patient for Schedule II through Schedule V controlled substances without advance approval by a supervising physician and surgeon for that particular patient unless the physician assistant has completed an education course that covers controlled substances and that meets standards, including pharmacological content, approved by the board. The education course shall be provided either by an accredited continuing education provider or by an approved physician assistant training program. If the physician assistant will administer, provide, or issue a drug order for Schedule II controlled substances, the course shall contain a minimum of three hours exclusively on Schedule II controlled substances. Completion of the requirements set forth in this paragraph shall be verified and documented in the manner established by the board prior to the physician assistant’s use of a registration number issued by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to the physician assistant to administer, provide, or issue a drug order to a patient for a controlled substance without advance approval by a supervising physician and surgeon for that particular patient.
(3) Any drug order issued by a physician assistant shall be subject to a reasonable quantitative limitation consistent with customary medical practice in the supervising physician and surgeon’s practice.
(d) A written drug order issued pursuant to subdivision (a), except a written drug order in a patient’s medical record in a health facility or medical practice, shall contain the printed name, address, and telephone number of the supervising physician and surgeon, the printed or stamped name and license number of the physician assistant, and the signature of the physician assistant. Further, a written drug order for a controlled substance, except a written drug order in a patient’s medical record in a health facility or a medical practice, shall include the federal controlled substances registration number of the physician assistant and shall otherwise comply with Section 11162.1 of the Health and Safety Code. Except as otherwise required for written drug orders for controlled substances under Section 11162.1 of the Health and Safety Code, the requirements of this subdivision may be met through stamping or otherwise imprinting on the supervising physician and surgeon’s prescription blank to show the name, license number, and if applicable, the federal controlled substances registration number of the physician assistant, and shall be signed by the physician assistant. When using a drug order, the physician assistant is acting on behalf of and as the agent of a supervising physician and surgeon.
(e) The supervising physician and surgeon shall use either of the following mechanisms to ensure adequate supervision of the administration, provision, or issuance by a physician assistant of a drug order to a patient for Schedule II controlled substances:
(1) The medical record of any patient cared for by a physician assistant for whom the physician assistant’s Schedule II drug order has been issued or carried out shall be reviewed, countersigned, and dated by a supervising physician and surgeon within seven days.
(2) If the physician assistant has documentation evidencing the successful completion of an education course that covers controlled substances, and that controlled substance education course (A) meets the standards, including pharmacological content, established in Sections 1399.610 and 1399.612 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations, and (B) is provided either by an accredited continuing education provider or by an approved physician assistant training program, the supervising physician and surgeon shall review, countersign, and date, within seven days, a sample consisting of the medical records of at least 20 percent of the patients cared for by the physician assistant for whom the physician assistant’s Schedule II drug order has been issued or carried out. Completion of the requirements set forth in this paragraph shall be verified and documented in the manner established in Section 1399.612 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations. Physician assistants who have a certificate of completion of the course described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) shall be deemed to have met the education course requirement of this subdivision.
(f) All physician assistants who are authorized by their supervising physicians to issue drug orders for controlled substances shall register with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
(g) The board shall consult with the Medical Board of California and report during its sunset review required by Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 9147.7) of Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code the impacts of exempting Schedule III and Schedule IV drug orders from the requirement for a physician and surgeon to review and countersign the affected medical record of a patient.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 536, Sec. 3. (SB 337) Effective January 1, 2016.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018