Physicians win big in states over scope-of-practice issues

Cooperation between national, state and specialty medical societies paid off this year as dozens of scope-of-practice bills were defeated.

By Jay Greene, AMNews staff. July 2, 2001. Clarification

The 2001 state legislative sessions proved a banner year for physicians as they defeated a slew of scope-of-practice bills that sought to give additional independent practice rights to advanced-practice nurses, expand optometrist prescribing and surger

They found success with strategies that linked grassroots lobbying with collaborative efforts between state medical associations, specialty societies and the AMA. The theme was to educate legislators on the educational differences between physicians an

"Finally enough physicians realize that scope of practice is bigger than just their own specialty. They are speaking out for the benefit of good patient care. It is starting to pay off with victories in many fields," said Michael Brennan, MD, secretary

Dr. Brennan also attributed success this year to physicians taking time out of their busy office and academic schedules to become involved in advocacy campaigns.

"This year was notable [for ophthalmologists] because the stakes were higher," said Dr. Brennan, an ophthalmologist in Burlington, N.C. Eight states had bills that could have allowed optometrists to give injections, he said. [...]