As used in the Physician Assistant Act:

1. "Board" means the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision;

2. "Committee" means the Physician Assistant Committee;

3. "Practice of medicine" means services which require training in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease, including the use and administration of drugs, and which are performed by physician assistants so long as such services are within the physician assistants' skill, form a component of the physician's scope of practice, and are provided with supervision, including authenticating with the signature any form that may be authenticated by the supervising physician's signature with prior delegation by the physician.

Nothing in the Physician Assistant Act shall be construed to permit physician assistants to provide health care services independent of physician supervision;

4. "Patient care setting" means a physician's office, clinic, hospital, nursing home, extended care facility, patient's home, ambulatory surgical center or any other setting authorized by the supervising physician;

5. "Physician assistant" means a health care professional, qualified by academic and clinical education and licensed by the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, to practice medicine with physician supervision;

6. "Supervising physician" means an individual holding a license as a physician from the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision or the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners, who supervises physician assistants;

7. "Supervision" means overseeing the activities of, and accepting responsibility for, the medical services rendered by a physician assistant. The constant physical presence of the supervising physician is not required as long as the supervising physician and physician assistant are or can be easily in contact with each other by telecommunication;

8. "Telecommunication" means the use of electronic technologies to transmit words, sounds or images for interpersonal communication, clinical care (telemedicine) and review of electronic health records; and

9. "Application to practice" means a written description that defines the scope of practice and the terms of supervision of a physician assistant in a medical practice.

Added by Laws 1993, c. 289, § 2, emerg. eff. June 3, 1993. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 47, § 1, emerg. eff. April 7, 1997; Laws 1998, c. 128, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1998; Laws 2001, c. 385, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2001; Laws 2015, c. 163, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2015.