Georgia NP Imaging Bill Takes Problematic Amendment
Senate Bill 109 took additional amendments in committee last week that would require APRNs to be licensed for five years before a physician could delegate the authority to order radiographic imaging tests in other than life-threatening situations. Patients and health care systems in Georgia are already disenfranchised from timely diagnostic care that 49 states, D.C. and the U.S. territories already authorize NPs to order at the point of initial licensure. This weighty amendment adds more unnecessary red tape. The House companion was heard in committee last week but received no vote. House Bill 409 retains the original language to lift the emergency restriction without requiring years in practice prior to physician delegation and updates Georgia’s APRN/physician ratio requirements. AANP continues to evaluate the Georgia landscape around these issues.