Notification of Disciplinary Action Provided to Supervising Physician
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF REGISTRATION OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS
BOARD POLICY 05-01
(Adopted October 13, 2005)
NOTIFICATION OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION PROVIDED TO SUPERVISING PHYSICIAN
Board regulations related to the clinical and professional practice of physician assistants require a one-on-one, professional relationship through which a physician assistant receives individual assessment, direction and supervision from his or her supervising physician.   Pursuant to Board regulations, the supervising physician remains the principal, medical decision-maker and has broad discretion to determine the physician assistant’s acceptable scope of practice.   The degree and nature of physician supervision must ensure the physician assistant practices medicine in accordance with accepted standards of medical practice.  Proper supervision, including the determination of an acceptable scope of practice, must be based upon an ongoing professional relationship that includes the supervising physician’s familiarity with the physician assistant’s abilities, training, experience and limitations.  The Board has an interest, therefore, in providing a supervising physician with information useful in the supervision of a particular physician assistant.
It is the policy of the Board that, whenever the Board takes final disciplinary action against a licensed physician assistant, either by a final decision and order or by consent agreement, the Board may require the licensee to provide written notification to each supervising physician.  Independent of this requirement, the Board itself may provide such notice, at any time, to a physician identified as the supervising physician of a physician assistant who is the subject of final disciplinary action by the Board.
Unless otherwise directed by the Board, the notice to be provided to a supervising physician must include the nature of the disciplinary action taken (e.g. reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation or voluntary surrender of license), the effective date of the Board’s action and the duration of the action, if any.  This policy does not apply to any non-disciplinary agreement or action taken by the Board.
Interested parties may seek additional information about specific actions by filing a request under the Massachusetts Public Records Law.