PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT UTILIZATION

1. (a) The physician assistant practices medicine with physician supervision. A physician assistant may perform those duties and responsibilities, including the ordering, prescribing, dispensing, and administration of drugs and medical devices, as well as the ordering, prescribing, and executing of diagnostic and therapeutic medical regimens, as provided in the written agreement.
2. (b) The physician assistant may provide any medical service when the service is within the physician assistant’s scope of practice, is identified in the written agreement and is consistent with the accepted standards of medical practice.
3. (c) The physician assistant may pronounce death, determine the cause of death, and may authenticate with the physician assistant’s signature any form related to pronouncing and determining the cause of death. Either the supervising physician or the physician assistant shall notify the county coroner. The coroner has the authority to release the body of the deceased to the funeral director.
4. (d) The physician assistant may authenticate with the physician assistant’s signature any form that may otherwise be authenticated by a physician’s signature as permitted by the supervising physician, Federal or State law and facility protocol, if applicable.
5. (e) The physician assistant shall be considered the agent of the supervising physician in the performance of all practice-related activities including the ordering of diagnostic, therapeutic and other medical services.

Authority

The provisions of this § 18.151 amended under sections 8, 13 and 36 of the Medical Practice Act of 1985 (63 P.S. § § 422.8, 422.13 and 422.36); and sections 502 and 503 of the Vital Statistics Law of 1953 (35 P.S. § § 450.502 and 450.503).

Source

The provisions of this § 18.151 amended August 13, 1993, effective August 14, 1993, 23 Pa.B. 3780; amended November 17, 2006, effective November 18, 2006, 36 Pa.B. 7009; amended July 3, 2025, effective July 5, 2025, 55 Pa.B. 4534. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (409198) and (323425).