Bills passed by the legislature during the final days of session are beginning to make their way to the Governor’s desk for final approval. The Governor recently traveled to the Marshfield Clinic to sign three healthcare related bills.

Senate Bill 317 expands the use of electronic prescriptions to schedule II substances. Schedule II substances are those that have a high potential for abuse and may lead to severe physical or
psychological dependence, but also have a currently accepted medical use. Before this bill was signed, pharmacies were only allowed to fill paper copies of schedule II prescriptions.

Under prior law, only physicians and advanced practice nurse prescribers had statutory authority to complete certain activities related to patient care. Senate Bill 421 expands the statutes to allow physicians assistants to act under specified circumstances and to affect individuals by those authorized actions. Details on the specific activities physicians assistants are now authorized to complete can be found in the statutes.

The final bill signed by Walker, Senate Bill 383, creates licensure requirements and practice and disciplinary standards for anesthesiologist assistants in Wisconsin. It also creates the Council on Anesthesiologist Assistants, which will advise and make recommendations to the state’s Medical Examining Board.

In the coming weeks, look for Hamilton Consulting Group’s comprehensive review of the significant health-related legislation passed during the 2011-12 legislative session.