No Discipline for Physician Assistant Who Wrote Prescriptions

Tennessee’s health department improperly disciplined a physician assistant for prescribing controlled substances, the state appeals court said.

No explicit provision in the rules governing a physician assistant’s scope of practice forbids them from prescribing such drugs while under the supervision of a physician who lacks a Drug Enforcement Agency registration, the Tennessee Court of Appeals said.

The court affirmed a lower court order that reversed civil penalties imposed on Norma Sparks.

Physician assistants in Tennessee are authorized to practice medicine only under the supervision of a licensed physician. State law permits physicians to delegate their prescription-writing authority to the physician ...