On Friday August 15th, 2003, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Hospital
Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) came to an agreement on interim language for
hospital order writing by Mid-Level Practitioners. This was a major achievement
for us. For the past three months, the PSPA has been working with HAP, along
with representatives from the CRNP’s, Nurse Midwives and the Medical Society
to develop joint language as an interim policy to allow both written and oral
orders within hospitals. At our last HAP conference call, we reviewed what the
DOH had written and suggested some minor changes. Those changes have been agreed
upon by all parties
The new Statement of Policy became effective immediately upon publication in the September 27, 2003 issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Click here to view the new policy statement.
What this means is the following:
1. We can now write and give verbal orders in our hospitals again.
2. HAP will be sending all of their member institutions a letter outlining the new policy
3. Site reviewers have seen the new policy and are being educated on it at this point.
4. Hospitals are going to have 90 days from publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin to come into compliance with the new policy changes. In some form, the hospital bylaws must state that a PA/NP/NMW can write and give oral orders in the institution. Hospitals no longer have to file for an exception.
The overall re-write of the DOH regulations, Title 28, will occur starting
sometime in the next 12 months.